The Round Peg in the Square Hole
by gimmecookiesorDIE
Summary: A new character who can work her way into anybody's heart, who is best friends with the social outcasts, who can resist the Uchiha's charm, who defies expectations, who can change the world. What is she? A round peg in a square hole. Sasuke/OC NaruHina
1. Teams

_**"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square hole. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do." **_

**-****Apple Computer Inc.**

Chapter 1- Teams

"Congratulations! Everyone in this room has PASSED! You are all officially ninja of Konoha!" Iruka appeared to be almost as excited as the kids, for they had finally completed their 4 years of training and were off to save the world (or at least Konoha).

The entire class screamed in excitement, glad to finally be rid of this building that held so many bad memories amidst only a couple fond ones. The only person not screaming was Uchiha Sasuke, not that anyone was surprised. On the contrary, most of the girls stopped screaming early on, just to look at him with dreamy eyes.

Only two girls didn't look at Sasuke, and only one of them didn't look at Sasuke at all. The best friends, Hyuuga Hinata and Hoshi, stopped screaming pretty quickly too but only because Hoshi felt the need to glare at the too-cool-for-you Uchiha and Hinata was just too shy to scream for long.

It took the boys a little longer to settle down, though, and only once they did would Iruka start to read out ranks. The class knew this, and Ino, wanting to know if she had gotten a rank anywhere close to Sasuke's (everyone knew that he was going to be number 1), yelled quite loudly for the rest of the guys to shut up. Everyone's attention, including Sasuke's, turned towards her, and Sakura looked ready to tackle her for managing to draw Sasuke's attention. She would have too, if Iruka had not gotten tired of all the noise by then.

"ENOUGH!" He screamed, feeling the need to vent his frustrations out loud. Really, it was no wonder he was as excited to get away from the kids, as they were to get away from him. The past two days of testing had driven him to be slightly more insane than usual. "I shall now read out the ranks, after which you may all leave. You must be back tomorrow though, at the same time as a regular day, in order to receive team assignments." He knew he had to announce this now, since he was sure all the kids would rush out as soon as ranks were finished. He didn't blame them either; in fact, he'd be right behind them.

"Okay, we'll start with the end. Uzumaki Naruto, rank 30." Naruto, who was sitting in the back with his Hyuuga Hinata and Hoshi, his two best friends, looked a bit more down after this announcement. He knew it was coming, but still… he would never like hearing his name called first. Hinata and Hoshi both noticed this sadness and knew the cause but they also knew that this was something he needed to come to terms with on his own. Still, Hoshi put her hand over Naruto's in a gesture of support. Hoshi knew he needed it and that Hinata would be too shy to.

"Hoshi, rank 15." Hoshi looked up in shock for a second before a pleased look took over her face, which confused Hinata immensely. They had all studied and trained together for this exam, and she had come to know that Hoshi was _very_ advanced for her age. She probably could have gotten rank 1 if she tried. Heck, she could have gotten that rank without even trying. So how did she get so low? Hinata was about to voice these concerns when she heard her name.

"Hyuuga Hinata, rank 4." And Iruka continued on, oblivious to the mini panic attack in the last row. Rank 4? Hinata found herself being torn between pride and fear. She knew that she had done her best and she had ended up in the top ten, which was her goal. Even better, she had ended up in the top 5! However, her father's goal was aimed much higher, a goal which she knew she could not and thus had not reached. What would happen now? Her fearful musings were interrupted when she felt a hand grasp hers. Startled, she looked up to see Hoshi. She looked into her eyes, and suddenly she felt much calmer. She knew Hoshi was telling her that she was there for her no matter what her father said. The point was that she had done her best. Feeling better, Hinata gathered her strength to listen to the first rank, the rank her father had wanted for her.

"Uchiha Sasuke, rank 1." This surprised no one, although it did cause most of the girls to sigh and look at Sasuke dreamily and all the boys to look at him with a mix of envy and admiration. Sasuke took the attention and the news of his rank like he always did: he smirked before walking out of the room. Out of all the people in the room, only two remained unimpressed. Unfortunately for Sasuke, these were two of his teammates.

All the students—now genin—rushed out of class wearing their hitai-ite proudly. Most ran into the arms of the waiting parents, all of whom seemed very proud. Only four of the students walked out of the school with no parent to run too. Three of these students walked toward the Hyuuga clan house, walking just as proudly as the rest of their classmates. One walked towards a lonely apartment building. Out of these four, only two received the expressionless, cold looks associated with being a jinchuriki.

"Everyone, be quiet please and hold all questions and concerns until the end." The Hokage said this to a room of 11 Jounin at 7:00 that night, 10 of who would be taking on new teams this year. The Hokage was standing at the front of the room with Iruka standing next to him. They were preparing to tell this room who they must become teachers to in the graduated genin class.

The Hokage cleared his throat. He assumed he had the attention of everyone in the room but he really only had the attention of the jounin whose name was being called. It was in this way that 6 teams were named without comment, but the 7th team was a different story.

"Team 7 will be led by Hatake Kakashi who will be in charge of Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto." Scarcely a second had passed before chaos erupted.

"We can't put the Uchiha with that monster! Something could happen to him!"

"The beast passed? How can this have happened? There is no way that I will stand by and let Konoha be guarded by the very thing we should guard against!"

"BE QUIET!" This yell, which silenced the room, came not from the Hokage, but from the only woman present.

"Now," she said in a much calmer voice. She started to address the Hokage alone. "Hokage-sama, I do agree with putting Naruto-kun with Sasuke-kun, but I do not agree with Sakura-chan being placed with them. Where were you planning on putting Hyuuga Hinata and Hoshi?"

An uproar almost broke out again, but the Hokage was having none of it. He glared at the jounin before looking at his foremost kunoichi with interest. "Why do you ask, Kurenai-san? Do you want to make Kakashi-san take on four students? And such an odd bunch too. Please, explain yourself."

Kurenai smiled, for the Hokage was allowing her explain herself instead of immediately discounting her suggestion. She had a lot of respect for the Hokage, and she would have been disappointed had he not let her speak. She noticed everyone looking at her with disinterest, condensation, or humor, which irritated her greatly. Only two men seemed to be greatly interested in what she had to say other than the Hokage: Kakashi and Iruka.

"Hokage-sama, I agree with putting Naruto and Sasuke together because the Uchiha is far too arrogant and introverted to become friends with anybody else. Naruto is friendly, outgoing, and loud. Only he can become friends with him. Only Naruto and Hinata.

"Hinata is the one of only two students in the class who does not hold Sasuke in either contempt or admiration. On the contrary, the only thing she seems to feel for him is pity. She is very shy, but she is also very sweet and patient. She is someone who will really try to help and understand him, which I am sure Sasuke will appreciate. Besides, she is already good friends with Naruto, for only him and another person can get her confidence to try and actually do well. I doubt she would have gotten her rank if she didn't have Naruto and her other friend there helping her and cheering her on. She is also good at calming Naruto when he needs it.

"The only other person who gives Hinata confidence is Hoshi. She is a strong girl with a very kind heart, which is something that draws people to her. Despite her background, almost every kid in the class is a friend with her. She is best friends with Hinata and helps her to succeed, so the two must be kept together. She is very good friends with Naruto when most people shun him, so he is attached to her too. It's likely that Hinata only became friends with Naruto because Hoshi was there to push them together. Plus, she never seems to take any fluff from anyone, which is what most of the Uchiha's words are. She seems to be very understanding, and very strong. I saw her while she was training alone, and I was astounded. She could probably best Sasuke if she wanted too. Out of the entire class, the only person whom Sasuke has a chance of respecting is her. She is the only one who can stand up to him, who is not enamored by him. She is so strong yet so kind that I'm sure they will become friends with mutual respect for each other.

"As to the issue with teachers, I think it would be wise for another teacher to be partners with Kakashi-senpai. That way, these kids will get the attention they deserve, for none of them have had an easy life. Plus, all four of these kids have tremendous potential, which they will be sure to reach with the right guidance.

"Thank you for hearing me out, Hokage-sama and senpais. Please think about what I have said."

With that she was finally silent, with many men staring at her in awe. This didn't surprise her. She was smart, and she was glad that some of these pigs were beginning to realize it.

Kakashi, Iruka, and the Hokage looked thoughtful. Kakashi completely agreed with what Kurenai had just said, and he would be happy to teach these kids with another teacher. Iruka was very happy, for this was exactly what he had hoped would happen at this meeting. He had told the Hokage that he had wanted them four to be put together, but the Hokage had said no, for he knew that it would cause an uproar bigger than the one they had originally seen. The Hokage had hoped, as Iruka had, that someone would suggest the team like Kurenai had: so logical that it was hard to refute. Iruka glanced first at Kakashi, who nodded, and then at the Hokage, who nodded to. He smiled.

The Hokage smiled too before announcing, "Thank you, Kurenai-san, for such a well thought out suggestion. After some thought, Iruka and I are agreed that what you have suggested will come to pass." The Hokage was already glaring at the Jounin, so none of them made a peep, although some expressions indicated that they would have been happy to object. "We were originally going to put Hyuuga Hinata with Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba as a reconnaissance team with you leading, Kurenai-san, and Hoshi with Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, and Yamanaka Ino with Asuma-san leading, but I am happy to change that. We shall instead put Sakura with Shino and Kiba and simply leave Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino together. However, I would like for you, Kurenai-san, to be the other teacher on Team 7, which I would like to be called Team 8, and have Gekko lead Sakura's new team, which is now Team 7. Is everyone involved okay with this?"

Kakashi and Kurenai nodded, both very pleased with the way things turned out. Kurenai had hoped she would be put onto that team. Gekko nodded as well, having a good feeling about his soon-to-be new team.

After that, calling out the teams went smoothly. Nobody disagreed with anything else, and the Jounin dispersed, feeling good about what was to come.

While the Jounin, Iruka, and the Hokage discussed their fates, the genin in question were going out for their nightly dinner. Kiba, Shino, Chouji, Shikamaru, and Naruto were all at their regular meeting place, Ichiraku Ramen, at the regular time, 7. And, as usual, the girls were late.

All 5 boys were deep into a discussion about potential teammates and teachers when they felt an ominous presence behind them. They stopped talking and exchanged glances before turning around simultaneously, only to have…

Water squirted into their faces by a giggly girl who, despite her cute looks, was a genin of Konoha and their best friend. Laughing, she dispelled her clones and sat right in the middle, in between Shikamaru and Kiba. Another girl walked over with a small, guilty smile on her face. She came and sat next to Naruto at the end.

These two girls were very close to these guys. They were all very good friends who had made it a ritual to come every school night to this restaurant to just hang out. The girl who was fond of pranks, Hoshi, could not help but laugh as she saw her best friends Kiba and Shikamaru wipe water out of their eyes while attempting to glare at her.

Hoshi was very proud of herself. She knew that this night is an important night for all of them, and she figured she might as well achieve some goals she had set for herself. With this prank she had outwitted the prankster, made two looks of shock appear on two faces who never show emotion, caught the paranoid one of guard, and gotten the forever hungry one to stop eating. She couldn't help but smile charmingly at the boys before looking at Ayame and ordered as though nothing at all had happened, leaving Ayame's barely held laughter to burst out.

"So, what's up?" Hoshi asked nonchalantly. She looked side to side, waiting for Shika or Kiba to answer. Eventually, Kiba sighed and gave up his failed attempt to remain angry with Hoshi.

"Nothing much, only can you believe we're FINALLY genin? I mean really, it took forever!"

"Forever and a half," muttered Shika, also unable to stay mad at Hoshi. "It's not like those ranks were that surprising anyway. We all knew the Uchiha genius would get first rank and this idiot," he said while smirking and jerking a thumb at Naruto, who was sitting behind him, "would be last. Nobody was surprised by the rankings. Except," he paused, suddenly looking intensely at the girl next to him, "yours. We all studied, sparred, threw shurikens, practiced everything we were going to be tested over. We all knew you were holding back, but even then you still beat us by a mile. How did you get such a low rank?"

Hoshi looked down, cursing herself. Shikamaru is very smart, and she had been stupid to think she could fool him. However, she was not comfortable with telling everyone why she had done this. Maybe if it was just Kiba, Shika, and Hinata she would. But in public? No way. "I have my reasons, Shika." She stared into Shikamaru's eyes while saying this, telling him to ask her later, when it was just she and her super close friends.

And that was that. All the attention that was on her immediately shifted, since everyone knew that once she said back off, she really meant it. Talk shifted back to what the boys were talking about before the girls had arrived.

"What do you think the teams will be, Hoshi-chan?" Her other close friend, Kiba, asked her with a slightly serious face. "I wonder if we'll be on the same team… you know the teams will be uneven. I wonder how that would work out…"

Hoshi opened her mouth to answer him, but then ramen was put in front of her. She immediately forgot whatever response she was about to make, her mind taken over by her stomach.

Kiba smiled as Hoshi dug in, for he knew that she was practically dead to the world when ramen was in front of her. Unfortunately, Chouji and Shino had to leave early. After a quick goodbye, Hoshi turned back to her ramen.

By the time she was finished, Hinata was only half way through her own bowl of ramen. Noticing this, Hoshi asked with a giggle, "What was the question again, Kiba-kun?"

Kiba smiled at his best friend who was a girl and said, "How do you think teams will turn out?"

The red-haired beauty could only shrug. "Who knows, Kiba-kun? All I know is that I'll be happy with anyone as long as I'm not with Sasuke or one of his fangirls." She said this with a shiver of apprehension, and she got an odd feeling of foreboding.

Shaking it off, she said, "Well, I should probably go now. It's getting late, and we need a full night's sleep for tomorrow! Come on, Hina-chan, Naruto-kun!" Leaping off her chair, she walked away with Hinata and Naruto next to her. Looking back, she called out, "Bye Shika-kun! Kiba-kun! See you tomorrow!" Hinata and Naruto followed with their own byes and they were off.

Kiba smiled to himself. "She really is something." Shikamaru yawned. "I actually agree with you, Kiba. Troublesome, that's the only word to describe her."

_The Next Day_

"Hey guys!" Shouted Naruto as he entered the room, grinning with his hitai-ite across his forehead. Hinata and Hoshi, who were already there, turned and smiled at the blonde ninja.

"Hey Naruto," they said together. Hoshi moved in so that Naruto could sit next to her. She and Hinata had just been having an intense discussion about said blonde, and she felt bad. She figured she could show Hinata that she had no hard feelings by sitting next to the object of her affections and saving her from, what Hinata would think of as, potential embarresment.

Unfortunately, Sasuke was sitting right behind Naruto. His fangirls were currently having a fight as to who was going to sit next to him while he simply stared impassively ahead. Hoshi smirked at him before turning back around.

"Hey Naruto-kun, have you heard?" she interrupted his staring at Sakura. She had no clue what he saw in her, but she knew that it was hurting Hinata, something the dobe had probably not even noticed. She was killing two birds with one stone. Naruto turned to look at her with a question in his eyes.

In an overly loud whisper with a mischievous smile on her face, she said, "Sasuke-teme is GAY."

This caused _quite _the commotion. All of his fangirls and Sasuke turned to look at her with disbelief in their faces. Naruto and Hinata would have too, but they recognized the look on her face. Hinata sighed, knowing that interfering would do nothing. Besides, she was grateful that Hoshi ad gotten the blonde's attention off of the pinkette. She sat back a bit and decided to watch the show. _Hoshi has really outdone herself this time. She's in over her head. _

Naruto grinned back at Hoshi and played along. With a whine in his voice, he said, "Everyone knows that Hoshi. Come on, if you're going to tell me something, at least make it something new."

Needless to say, the fangirls blew up. "Sasuke-kun is NOT gay!"

"You'd think we would know if he was!"

"There is NO WAY he is gay!"

Hoshi looked at the reason of all the commotion. "If he's not gay, why does he never give any of you the time of day?"

The fangirls considered this. Sasuke looked ready to explode. Hoshi smirked at him, wanting him to go over the edge. "Hey, Naruto-kun, do you want a shot at him?" She winked.

Naruto looked shocked, and the fangirls looked horrified. Sasuke exploded. "I AM NOT GAY!" He yelled, seeming unable to keep his emotions in check as everyone looked at him in astonishment. This was the first time any of them had seen him lose his cool. Hinata, Hoshi, and Naruto had to stifle their laughs. Hinata had been right. Hoshi had put on quite the show. She may be many things, but boring was certainly not one of them.

Sasuke clapped his hands over his mouth and glared at Hoshi. She had done what he and the entire class had thought was impossible. She had gotten a response out of him, an emotion out of him. Hoshi smiled back charmingly, unaware of the emotions now churning inside the Uchiha. This caught him off guard. He had thought that perhaps Hoshi was just a fangirl trying to get his attention, but it looked like now she was just having some fun. _She's different. _

It was at that moment Iruka entered the room. "Quiet down everyone! I have the team assignments for you!" All the new ninja immediately sat up a little straighter and got quieter, excitement and nervous anticipation showing on all their faces.

Hoshi and Naruto zoned out, until they heard their respective friend and crush's names. "Team 7 under Gekko: Haruno Sakura, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba."

The two best friends slumped, disappointed. Hoshi would have loved to be on the same team as Kiba, since they were such good friends. Besides, nobody but her, his sister, and his mom could get him to behave. She hoped he would behave despite their watchful eyes. _Oh, he'll be fine_, she scoffed to herself.

Naruto was saddened that he was not put onto the same team as his crush. He would have been sure to get to spend some quality time with her and show her that he was way better than the teme. _Well, at least she wasn't put on the teme's team. Here's hoping that I won't be either._

Hinata, on the other hand, brightened with a ghost of a smile playing on her face. She was being selfish, she knew that, but she couldn't help it. If Hoshi had been put onto Kiba's team, then her and Hoshi would slowly drift apart. Hinata was sure that she wouldn't be able to handle that. If Naruto had been put onto the same team as Sakura, then she could just give up any hope of them being together. _This is for the better_.

"Team 8 under Hatake Kakashi and Yuuhi Kurenai," That introduction dragged every genin's attention. Two instructors for one team? It was almost unheard of. "Uchiha Sasuke," Every single girl who hadn't already been put onto a team sat up a little straighter, while Hoshi sank a little lower. _Of course the genius gets the two instructors. _"Hyuuga Hinata," Hinata jumped a little bit and looked from side to side in surprise. Hoshi smirked. _Trust the one girl not chasing after him to be put on his team. Instructors: 1 Fangirls: 0 _"Uzumaki Naruto," Both Naruto, who had gone straight when he had heard Hinata's name, and Hoshi, who had been slouching this whole time in an effort to appear uninterested, looked shocked. Hinata looked ready to faint, and Hoshi could barely stifle her laugh. On the inside, she was almost ready to cry. _My best friends are on the dream team. _She was happy for them, of course, but she would have just loved to be on the same team as them. "And Hoshi." Hoshi sat straight up. _What just happened?_ That was pretty much the collective thought of the whole room. A 6-man team? Hoshi was torn between screaming for joy and banging her head against the desk in confusion. _Oh to heck with it_.

Hoshi jumped onto the desk and started to do a little dance. "! SCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOREEE! INSRUCTORS: 2 FANGIRLS: ZIP!" Suddenly she blushed and sat back down. She muttered, "Did I really just say that out loud? Not just say it, but scream it?" while the rest of the class burst into laughter. Hinata and Naruto shared glances, both stifling their own laughter. They had to ask what she meant by that score…

Iruka cleared his throat, both in an effort to cover his laughter and to regain attention. _That's one student who I'm going to miss. Number one unpredictable ninja, that was for sure._ "Team 9…"

Iruka was still going strong with the teams, but the fangirls and Team 8 were really not listening. All the fangirls seemed to be having the exact same thoughts as they tried, and failed, to glare at the two lucky ones. _Of course the two girls who have no feelings for Sasuke-kun get onto the team with him. If it were anybody but Hinata-san and Hoshi-chan, they would be so dead. _

The girls on Team 8 was oblivious to their almost-would-be-deaths. They were too busy celebrating, but they, along with Naruto, managed to be much quieter than Hoshi was before. The only member of Team 8 not on Cloud 9 was Sasuke. _What as interesting turn of events, but I can't really say I'm disappointed. Better having dead last than a fangirl._ He suppressed a shudder. That would have been horrible.

The three friends turned back into the real world when they heard their favorite sensei say, "That's all. Come back here after lunch to meet with your teachers. I had so much fun teaching all of you. Good-bye."

Most of the students didn't hear his goodbye in their rush to leave the classroom. However, his three favorite students had and they were now standing before him, two of them with tears in their eyes to match his.

Hinata spoke first, her tears threatening to spill over. "Thank you Iruka-sensei. You have taught me so much. Goodbye." With a hug, she walked out of the room and down the hall. Iruka smiled. It was so like her to keep it short and sweet and giving them privacy.

Naruto was next, barely holding back his own tears. "Without you, Iruka-sensei, I definitely would not have been able to graduate. Thank you so much for all you extra effort and time. Come visit me anytime, I will never say no. Goodbye." He hugged his teacher as well before joining Hinata. Iruka's smile was stretched from ear to ear. _That's one kid who has had a hard childhood. I know your life will be filled with all the happiness you have been deprived of, Naruto. Good luck._

Now, only Hoshi was left. She was without a doubt his favorite student, the only one with no tears. Her feelings were only shown with her shaky smile. Iruka braced himself for what he knew would be a melodramatic goodbye. "Iruka-sensei, words cannot describe how much thanks I want to give you. You have helped my best friends and me to be all that we can be, a lesson I'm sure none of us will forget. You're the older brother I never had, and if you ever need your little sister for any reason at all, don't be afraid to ask. We'll come and visit often, just make sure you do too, 'kay? See ya, Iruka-otouto." With this speech, which did not disappoint, she gave him a hug as well as a kiss on the cheek before leaving to catch up with her friends. Iruka's tears spilled over. _That's one person who always went against the grain, who always played the hero, the only one who is friends with everyone in the class._ Iruka wiped his tears before telling his empty classroom, "I have never met a person more determined to be different. She is going to change the world. I know just it. Rest up, Hoshi-imouto. You have a lot of work to do."

"_**Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary."**_

**-Cecil Beaton**

Author's Note: 

_Italics:_ Actual thoughts

_**Bold**__**and Italics**_**:** Flashbacks

"_**Bold**__**and Italics with double quotation marks":**_ quote

Hey guys, thanks so much for reading this! It's my first fanfic, so criticisms will be welcome! Share all your thoughts in the form of a review please! Also, if anybody's interested and has the time, I really need a beta. Please apply! Thanks again!

Peace!

-gimmecookiesorDIE

PS- sorry about all the explanation points, I'm just really excited. Until next time!


	2. Tests

_**Learning to trust is one of life's most difficult tasks.**___

**-****Isaac Watts **

Chapter 2- Tests

"Come on, guys! We have to catch up to that teme!" Hoshi was running ahead of her best friends and teammates, trying to catch up to the third. She wanted to eat lunch as a team.

"Hoshi-chan, not all of us want to catch up to that teme. We're going to take our own sweet time, right Hinata-chan?" Naruto had been less than happy when Hoshi had told him her plan, and he had been trying to stall this lunch for as long as he could.

"Ano, Naruto-kun, I do believe that Hoshi-chan's intentions are good. We really should get to know each other as a team." Hinata blushed a shade of red that would make a tomato jealous, but she had not stuttered. This caused her to do a mental happy dance while looking at her crush.

Naruto groaned. Why were the girls always right? "Oh alright. Let's catch up then." He sped up and asked Hoshi, "Do you even know where teme is?"

Hinata caught up. Hoshi smiled at her, letting her know that she was proud of her lack of stuttering, before saying, "He's at that building. Can't you see him through the window? And no, Naruto-kun, we are not going to play a prank on him." Naruto's mischievous smile, which had formed right after Hoshi's question, disappeared, his mouth settling into a pout. He opened his mouth, but Hoshi interrupted him. "No exceptions! You won't budge me on this, Naruto-kun." Naruto shot a pleading glance at Hinata, but she only smiled and shrugged. She was on Hoshi's side. With a frustrated sigh, they finished the last few steps to the house.

They all simultaneously jumped onto the ledge. "Hey teme!" Hoshi greeted. Sasuke turned around, surprised. He had known they were coming, since he sensed people approaching, but he had assumed that it would be his fangirls.

"Come on, we were all just going to eat lunch! We want you to come too, for some team bonding. Let's go!" Hoshi was about to jump off the ledge to head over to Hinata's favorite restaurant, Arata's Grill, when Sasuke grabbed her arm. She turned around in surprise.

"How do I know that you aren't just a fangirl?" He asked with a calm face that betrayed nothing of the confusion inside him. He had been asked on dates before, but never in a group. He wanted to be sure that her intentions were pure.

His stoic gaze was met with a steely one. In an instant, the sparkle in Hoshi's eyes had vanished, the cheerful atmosphere going with it. Hinata and Naruto glanced at each other. Sasuke could not have asked a worse question. Wanting to avoid Hoshi's bad side, which was _really_ bad, Naruto said, "Come on, Hinata-chan, I bet I can beat you to the restaurant!"

He was off in a flash. Hinata sent Hoshi and Sasuke apologetic looks before racing after him. She knew that getting into this or even staying there would do no good. Besides, who knew what trouble Naruto would get into when he was alone.

Hoshi hardly noticed her friends' departure. She was too focused on controlling her anger. _Don't get angry so easily, you know what getting angry does. Cool it!_ She took a deep breath before saying, "Don't flatter yourself."

Surprise flashed in Sasuke's eyes before being covered by his stoic face. _Wow. This has fire, she does. _Sasuke smirked before saying, "Trust me, I'm not the one doing the flattering. Now, where is this restaurant?"

He had cut Hoshi's scathing comeback off with his question. Surprise overtook Hoshi's face, and she didn't try to hide it. Her anger vanished. _He accepted. I was right, although it was stupid of me to get mad over such a small comment. _Her good cheer somewhat regained, she said, "Arata's Grill. Come on, we don't want them to order without us!"

With those words, which surprised him most of all, they set out. _That was weird. Her anger was vast and terrifying, but it then disappeared without warning or anything. She is one weird girl._

They got there in no time, and Hoshi smiled at the waiter. The waiter smiled back before leading them into the restaurant. This irritated Sasuke, although he had not a clue why. His irritation was his fourth surprise in the last 20 minutes, which in turn increased his irritation. He was about to ponder the reasons behind his irritation when they reached a booth, with Naruto and Hinata already sitting on opposite sides.

Hoshi slid in next to Hinata with another smile, which left Sasuke to sit next to Naruto. With a grimace, he sat down next to the now not-so-happy Naruto.

Suddenly, Naruto said in an overly loud voice, "Thank God! We though you would never get here! Let's order, I'm starved!" His loud voice gave Hinata a smile, Sasuke a grimace, and Hoshi a scowl.

"Don't be so loud, dobe! We have to give Sasuke a chance to look at the menu. Not everyone's been here before." Hoshi reprimanded him with her scowl present throughout. Hinata couldn't help but giggle, and Sasuke smirked. He'd only been around them for 2 minutes, and he already knew that he could never be bored with them around.

"I've been here before, so we can go ahead and order." Sasuke told the group with his smirk.

As though on cue, a waiter came out. He smiled as soon as he saw them. "Hoshi-chan, Hinata-chan, Naruto-kun! I can never get tired of seeing you guys. The usual, I'm guessing? Oh look at you, all genin now! I knew you guys would pass with flying colors! Who is your new friend?" He said the last part with some surprise, as though he had just noticed Sasuke sitting there.

The three grinned up at him. They all said together, "Hey, Arata-san!" Sasuke looked on in surprise. How often did they come here?

"Yes, the usual would be just perfect, thank you. How is Chikako-chan?" Hinata asked with a smile. She knew this man almost as well as she knew Iruka-sensei.

Arata looked at her fondly. "Always so polite. Chika-chan is doing great, she's graduating first year, can you believe it?"

Naruto said, "Really? I could have sworn I was just playing pat a cake with her yesterday! She graduated top of her class, am I right Arata-san?"

Arata turned to him and gave the same fond look he gave Hinata. "I feel the same way, Naruto-kun. You hit it spot on! She got the number 1 rank!" He said this with some pride, and the girls couldn't help smiling.

It was Hoshi's turn. "She's going to be Rookie of the Year when she's genin, I know it! How could she not, with awesome teachers like us?" With an impish grin, she continued, "This is Sasuke-teme. He's part of our new team! Can you believe it? We all got onto the same team!"

Arata looked at her with even more fondness in his face for her than Hinata and Naruto. "I'll hold you to that, Hoshi-chan. You guys had better help her out! This is your new team? How wonderful that you all got onto the same team! Sasuke-teme? You still have the same sense of humor, Hoshi-chan. Okay, okay, enough small talk. I need Sasuke-san's order now. Nice talking to all of you, and you had better keep coming despite your genin status. What's your order Sasuke-san?" He finally turned to Sasuke, who just barely managed to cover his surprise. It seemed as though Hoshi was best friends with everyone. _Team 8: 5 Sasuke: 0._

"I would just like some noodles, Arata-san. Thank you." With the order that took 10 minutes to take gotten, Arata bowed a bit and walked off. Sasuke turned to the table, questions hidden in his eyes. Hoshi was the only one who noticed.

"We come here so often because it's Hina-chan's favorite. All of us have been coming here since the beginning of our years at the Academy, and we got really close. It's not uncommon for us to spend some of our days here. Whenever we're off, we almost always come over here. We've been training his daughter ever since she announced that she wanted to be a ninja." Hoshi explained everything. Hinata and Naruto were confused, but Hinata caught on quickly. She had to explain to Naruto that Hoshi was just explaining their relation with the restaurant's owner. Naruto was just so clueless sometimes.

Sasuke looked at her. He had been surprised yet again. How had she known he was confused? Shaking his head slightly, he put it out of his mind. It was just a one-time thing.

Naruto spoke up, asking a question that has been bugging him since they got out of class. "Hey Hoshi-chan, what did you shout when you got onto the desk during class today? After you shouted for joy?" He had an inquiring look on his face, the same look on Hinata's face and in Sasuke's eyes. Hoshi, however, blushed slightly.

"Oh nothing, nothing at all!" She said in far too high a voice. Sasuke smirked, smothering a chuckle. Naruto, however, made no such effort. Hinata giggled.

She explained to Sasuke, "Hoshi-chan is a very bad liar. Whenever she tries, her voice goes very high." She turned to Hoshi. "Hoshi, come on. You can trust us. Plus, you said you would."

Hoshi looked up. She had said she would. It wasn't that bad anyway, she supposed. After cursing her inability to lie, she said with a resigned sigh, "I shouted, 'Instructors: 2 Fangirls: Zip' if you must know."

Her team looked at her for a couple of seconds. Then, with no warning, all three started laughing at the same time. Quite loudly too, which did nothing for Hoshi's pride. She flushed. "It's not that funny!"

Hinata calmed down first. "Hoshi, what on earth provoked you to shout that?"

Naruto and Sasuke immediately stopped, since they were both eager for the answer. Hoshi was about to answer when she gasped and exclaimed, "Sasuke-teme, did you just laugh?"

And suddenly, all attention had been shifted to the Uchiha, whose calm face had been put up again. He opened his mouth to lie, but Hoshi interrupted. "Don't even try lying. I've never heard you laugh before!"

Naruto and Hinata were in equal shock, having thought that the Uchiha was simply incapable of laughing. "Sasuke-san, you should laugh more. It's healthy, plus it helps your demeanor."

At Naruto's blank look, Hoshi explained, "Demeanor means behavior or conduct." His expression cleared, and he then said, "Teme, you have got to learn to lighten up."

Sasuke heard all these comments with only one ear. He was just in much shock as them. He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed, and he couldn't help but wonder why he didn't laugh more. It had felt… liberating. He squashed these thoughts. Laughter was a symbol of happiness. Nothing would give him happiness other than Itachi's death, which is why he had not laughed ever since the Incident. He couldn't help but think that he was surprised yet again. _This is getting ridiculous._

Hoshi was watching the conflict in his eyes settle into determination. She frowned. He seemed to be denying himself happiness… she immediately promised herself that she will find out what was going on with this poor boy's soul that he wouldn't even allow himself a laugh.

She was pulled from her melodramatic thoughts by Naruto's next question. "Hoshi, you still haven't explained the reasoning behind your outburst during class today. Why?"

Hoshi looked at him with surprise and then irritation. Hinata and Sasuke both looked at her, their interest showing at varying degrees. She rolled her eyes, deciding to just get it over with. "I was just amused that the only two girls who weren't Sasuke's fangirls were the two put onto his team. That's all, nothing big, can we change the subject now?"

Hinata smiled and changed the subject by having a conversation between just her and Hoshi. She had thought as much. She knew Hoshi too well.

While Hinata started a conversation with Hoshi about the other teams, Sasuke was thinking about that. Now that he thought about it, Hoshi was right. They had never followed him, never asked him for a date, never even really glanced at him. He also realized that none of the other girls were mad at them. He had noticed the half-hearted glares at them once his team had been announced, but had failed to really comprehend them. His fangirls were fine with the two girls. He made a mental note to find out why.

Naruto was chuckling lightly. It was so like Hoshi to come up with something so weird to entertain herself. He turned to the teme. "You'll get used to it."

Sasuke turned, wondering what he meant and voiced his thoughts. "What?"

Naruto smiled. "Hoshi is odd, yet funny. She will always surprise you, so you should just get used to it."

Sasuke was shocked. Nobody had been able to read his emotions, and now this team had with ease. Even Naruto, the dead last. He added to the score in his head. _Team 8: 8 Sasuke: 0_ He really needed to step up his game.

He shook his head. What was he thinking? He had to focus everything he had to becoming stronger, to killing Itachi. He had no time for these silly games.

Before he could go into any gory details, their food arrived. They all started eating and chatting. Well, everybody but Sasuke. It wasn't long before they were heading back to the Academy, all thinking that this team may not be that bad.

XXXXXX

_Three Hours Later_

"You guys really shouldn't be doing that. Our sensei are jounin, they won't fall for that." Hinata reprimanded Naruto and Hoshi, who were currently getting an eraser stuck in the door in such a way that it would fall on the next person to enter.

They had been waiting for two and a half hours; long after everyone else had left. Sasuke was ready to actually try to have a conversation with one of them. That was how bored he was. He was in agreement with Hinata, there is no way they could prank two jouni—

His thought was interrupted when he saw the door opening and the eraser fall onto a ninja's head. Said ninja's surprised look caused him to smirk, Hinata to giggle, and Naruto and Hoshi to laugh.

Their sensei looked unimpressed. "Something tells me this was a bad idea."

A woman's voice sounded behind him, surprising the genin. "Oh, get in Kakashi. I don't relish sanding out here like a teme."

And with that they got a full view of both their sensei. The man was wearing a chuunin vest and an all black suit, which left only the top half of his face, fingers, and feet uncovered. Only one eye was visible, the other was covered by his hitai-ite. He had metal plates over the back of his hands.

The woman was wearing a short dress, which was made of bandages except for an arm being covered by a red sleeve. She had wavy black hair and startling red eyes. Naruto and Sasuke were interested instantly, although Sasuke hid it very well.

"Hello. I am Yuuhi Kurenai, but you will call me Kurenai-sensei. This is Hatake Kakashi, who will be called Kakashi-sensei. Why don't we go somewhere more private?" With those words, their sensei disappeared with a puff of smoke, leaving three very confused genin, and one smirking one.

Hoshi caught on the fastest. "This is a test. They're testing our tracking skills."

Sasuke was right behind her. "There's probably a time limit, so we should hurry."

Hinata thought out loud. "They won't be easy to find. I think we should use Naruto's clones and my Byakugan." She cast a glance at Hoshi before activating her doujutsu and Naruto made 5 clones. Despite himself, Sasuke was impressed. _Kage Bunshin huh? A Kage level jutsu by dead last. What am I missing?_

Hoshi grinned. "I have an idea. Got anything yet, Hina-chan?"

Hinata smiled almost… secretively at her. Sasuke suddenly had the odd feeling that they were having a conversation with no words. "I think we should go to Training Ground 7 and the bar on Main Street. I sense two jounin level chakras over there. But they could be decoys."

Naruto finally spoke up. Sasuke realized that he didn't actually know who the real Naruto is. _And I thought one Naruto was bad enough…_ "I'll have my clones go over to both those places in disguise and see what's going on."

With that, he made another clone and then transformed them into random Chuunin rank shinobi. They split three and three before heading off. Sasuke was confused.

Hoshi looked down, smirking. She had noticed his confusion. "He didn't want to alert them that we knew where they were. That way, we can have a little fun with the element of surprise."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. _Back to the childhood pranks._ He put out of his mind how she always seemed to know what he was thinking. _She keeps getting lucky… _Naruto suddenly jerked. "You were right, Hinata-chan. They had split between the training ground and bar." He cast the same secretive smile at Hoshi that Hinata had before and then said, "Dispel!"

Sasuke was confused… again. _You'd think I'd be used to this… _This time, Hinata noticed. "When a Kage Bunshin dispels, you get their memories."

Sasuke nodded, impressed. _That's quite a useful jutsu._ The back of his mind wondered how Hinata could read him as well, but he shrugged it off.

Hoshi still had a couple doubts. "Did you get Kakashi-sensei out of the bar? Does either of them know that we found them?"

Naruto grinned. "The clones thought they should leave that bit of fun to ourselves. Neither of the sensei gave an outward sign that they knew but I wouldn't be surprised if they had somehow found out."

Hoshi nodded. "Okay then, let's go to the bar! Knowing Kakashi-san, he would have gone to the only bar with an age limit. How will we get him out?"

Sasuke cleared his throat. "I think we should set a distraction which will for sure get him out. Maybe if the Hokage sent him an urgent letter?"

Hoshi and Naruto looked at him in surprise. That was a good idea, and it still had the prank in it. Hinata smiled. "I think we should actually get the Hokage to write a fake letter and have someone announce that Kakashi needs to come out on urgent Hokage business or something."

Naruto nodded. "But why would the ANBU not enter the place to give it to him?"

Hoshi grinned. "I think a Transformation jutsu is in order here. I'll transform into any ANBU I see in the Hokage's office. I'll enter with no problem, and you guys can nab him when he gets there! But I think I should have some of Naruto's clones with me, just in case. Disguised as civilians would be best." There was a pause. "NOW Naruto! We have to know if anyone leaves."

"Oh right!" With that, he made a dozen clones and transformed them into random people. They ran off to guard the exits to the bar.

Sasuke was speechless. That was an incredibly good plan. The three had taken his idea and immediately hammered out any flaws. They even came up with the execution, which is just as good as any he would have been able to come up with. Again, he wondered what he was missing.

He was brought out of his thoughts by the whooshing of air. He immediately realized that they had left and quickly went after them.

XXXXXX

The Hokage was suddenly composed. Only the smile on his face revealed how loudly he was laughing just a second ago. "Poor Kurenai-san and Kakashi-san. I probably should have thought through the assignments more… Here I'll write that note."

If Sasuke was surprised by how the Hoshi seemed close to yet another adult, he did not show it.

The Hokage grabbed the nearest piece of paper. He wrote a simple note saying he must urgently come to his office with his signature. _I can always count on Hoshi-chan and Naruto-kun to save me from this paperwork. Look out Konoha; Team 8 is together._ "Here you go! Hoshi-chan, transform into that ANBU."

This was where Sasuke had some doubts. He didn't think that Hoshi could do a better transformation than him. He did get Rookie of the Year. "Hey, Hoshi. Why don't we see whose transformation is better? I don't want Kakashi-sensei to realize that this is a prank."

If Sasuke were any less brave, he probably would have been on the floor in the fetal position by the glare Hoshi sent him. Naruto, Hinata, and even the Hokage backed up.

"Well, we'll just see, huh teme?" Her voice of steel was almost as bad as her glare. Sasuke smirked, but that was only on the outside. _Even the Hokage is afraid of her anger._

They both looked at the ANBU and then each other. In a poof, there were three identical ANBU in the room. The Hokage smiled. He had known that there was way more to Hoshi than her score. Sasuke was shocked. _Her transformation is just as good as mine. I can't tell who the real ANBU is._

"Hmmmm. Tough call, but I will have to say that this one," he pointed as Sasuke, "has a flaw. The mask is tilted just a bit to the left."

Sasuke started. He looked at the other two and realized the Hokage was right. _Damn. How does she have a better transformation than me? She is not from a prominent clan or anything. It's probably just beginner's luck._

Hinata and Naruto smiled at each other, both thinking the same thoughts. _Sasuke should really learn not to underestimate Hoshi-chan. She's better than he is, but he appears to be way too pigheaded to see. The flawed one is definitely Sasuke._

With that, he dispelled. Hinata and Naruto exchanged glances. Hoshi would never have a flaw unless it was on purpose. Hoshi took the letter. She was gone before he could blink, although he could have sworn there was a smirk beneath that mask.

XXXXXXX

_This letter looks official enough, and that is definitely the Hokage's signature. However, something's still off._ Kakashi was standing up in the bar with the ANBU next to him. He set off. He was pretty sure that his team would be waiting for him there, but he was impressed. They had managed to find him, come up with a plan to get him, and then executed it all in 15 minutes. He would even bet that some of the civilians roaming in around the bar were some clones. This ANBU is probably one of them as well. It was a very good Transformation. He couldn't spot a single flaw. _Can genin really do this?_ He was pretty sure that the transformation was Sasuke, but something still felt off.

With that, they reached the office. Kakashi entered through the window, as always. As he opened it, however, an eraser fell on his head. Hoshi stifled a giggle. Naruto never repeats pranks, and Hinata was just too shy too, which meant that it was Sasuke who had set this up. _Smarter than you look, Uchiha. Who knew that you could have fun?_ This team looked like it would be even more fun than she thought.

She dispelled her transformation, and her teammates came out from their hiding places. Kakashi grinned. _The eraser? That was a smart yet funny move._ He was assuming it was Naruto, which was the reason why Sasuke had done it in the first place.

Kakashi had seen Sasuke, Hinata, and Naruto approaching him from the office, so that meant Hoshi was transformed. Kurenai's voice echoed in his mind. _**I saw her while she was training alone, and I was astounded. She could probably best Sasuke if she wanted too.**_ It appeared that she was right.

"Well, that's one down. Let's go meet Kurenai-sensei at the Training Grounds. We don't actually know the time limit." The shy Hyuuga girl said this with a confidence Kakashi hadn't seen before. She didn't have it at family meetings, which he sometimes went to when it was public, or in the marketplace. Kurenai's voice invaded his thoughts again. _**I doubt she would have gotten her rank if she didn't have Naruto and her other friend there helping her and cheering her on**_. Kurenai was very thorough in her investigations. Kakashi was impressed by how they had already known Kurenai's spot.

Sasuke smirked while Naruto and Hoshi grinned. "LET'S GO!" They both shouted together. They were off before hearing Hinata's reprimand.

The rest of Team 8 followed them, but not before Hinata shrugged apologetically. "Sorry, Hokage-sama. You know how they can be."

The Hokage smiled at her. She was always so polite. Hoshi and Naruto would get into so much more trouble if she weren't around. "Yes, Hinata-chan, I do."

XXXXXXX

"Twenty minutes on the dot. Impressive." Kurenai had not thought they would be able to track and get Kakashi out in so little time. She had given them half an hour at least. Kakashi gave her a quick report, and Kurenai was impressed. _I knew these kids were special._ "Congrats, you four passed my test. Now it's Kakashi-senpai's turn."

The four genin's jaws unhinged. There was another test? Kakashi nodded, as though in answer to the genin's silent question. "The bell test. I have three bells here. All you need to do is get these bells by sundown, which is in 3 hours. I will have these bells on my person. Any questions?"

Hinata got over her shock the fastest. "Sensei, there are four of us, but only three bells."

Kakashi smiled. "Exactly. Whoever doesn't get a bell will have to go back to the Academy."

This sentence silenced the cries of outrage about to erupt from Hoshi and Naruto over the unfairness of having to take two tests.

The genin had horror on their faces. They had to get serious. "Go when I say too. One, two, three go!"

As soon as he said that, there was a big puff of smoke. By the time it cleared, everyone but Naruto had disappeared. Well, Naruto and his many clones. Kakashi was surprised that the dead last could perform Kage Bunshin. Kakashi didn't know that the real Naruto had disappeared as well.

"Where did that teme go?" Hoshi asked Hinata. Her, Hinata, and Naruto had all gone the same way. They knew they wouldn't be able to get the bells without each other's help.

"Screw the teme! Let's get the bells and have him go back to the Academy!" Naruto's rivalry with Sasuke appeared to not have gone away despite their being on the same team.

Hoshi rolled her eyes. "There was a reason all four of us were put onto the same team, Naruto. It would be very unfair to him if we get the bells alone."

Hinata was with Hoshi and was about to say so when she finally saw him. "Over there! He's in the tree." They both leaped off, and Naruto followed with a groan.

"Sasuke-teme, let's go. We have to come up with a plan." Hoshi and Hinata had gotten to him, and they were trying to get him to come with them.

Sasuke scoffed. He could get the bells all by himself. He didn't need them. He was opening his mouth to say so, but he was cut off. "Don't even think about writing us off, Teme. Besides, we don't have time for this. Kakashi-sensei is a jounin. There is no way you would be able to get the bells by yourself, so let's go already."

Sasuke considered this. She did have a point, and he would just have to make sure he was one of the ones who got the bells. "Okay. What did you have in mind?"

XXXXXXX

_That's the last of them. Where did Naruto go? _

"You're better than I thought, Kakashi-sensei. But that's not all I got!" With those words from the tree, 25 clones appeared. Without hesitation, they charged at Kakashi. He sighed. This boy has really got to learn some strategy.

He started to dispel them, when one suddenly got too close. Before he could dispel it, the clone had touched him. He realized that the clone was actually aiming for his legs instead of his bells. Before he had a chance to dispel it, it jumped away. That was when he felt a sudden numbness in his legs.

Hinata.

Suddenly, all the clones disappeared. Before the smoke had cleared, some kunai were heading straight for him. He couldn't jump out of the way, so he used his metal plates on his hands. He was busy with dodging those, so he didn't notice the shuriken headed towards him until it was almost too late.

He reached over just in time to block, when the shuriken disappeared in a puff of smoke. In it's place, grabbing the bells, was Hoshi. She grabbed the bells as she flew past him.

With a solid landing, she pumped her fist in the air. "WIN!"

Kakashi collapsed, his legs unable to hold him up thanks to his chakra points having closed. He had managed to delay his collapse, but now he was just in shock. _What just happened?_

Hinata and Naruto ran up to her with high-fives. Sasuke followed with a smirk. Hoshi grinned at their sensei before throwing the bells back at him.

"Thanks, but no thanks. We passed your test and if you still think we're unworthy of being ninja, then send us back to the Academy. All of us." The redhead winked at him before accepting her friends' high-fives. Her and Naruto began a goofy victory dance, causing Hinata to giggle and Sasuke to smirk. He had to admit, it was a good plan. Sasuke was about to gloat, but Hoshi cut him off.

She explained their plan while Hinata opened the chakra points again. By this time, Kurenai had joined them. "Hinata, Naruto, and I quickly figured out that there was no way we could get the bells unless we work together. We convinced the teme, and then we planned. Naruto would make a bunch of clones only this time; Hinata would be transformed as one of them. She would close the chakra points in your legs. The rest of us were standing in the tree. When we saw her jump away from you, Naruto dispelled his clones. As soon as he did that, Sasuke threw the kunai. He threw the shuriken, which I was transformed into, at the same time, but he made it go slower. I figured, correctly, that you would be too disconcerted to recognize me and knew your block against a shuriken would not be enough to block me. I was right."

Kakashi and Kurenai looked at each other before smiling. They nodded at the genin. Hinata had finished with his legs, so he stood up. "You all pass. Meet back here tomorrow at 8 A.M." And with that, their sensei left.

All of Team 8 grinned widely. _This team is going to rock._

"_**Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.**__**"**_

_**-**__**Henry Ford **_

Author's Note: 

_Italics:_ Actual thoughts

_**Bold**__**and Italics**_**:** Flashbacks

"_**Bold**__**and Italics with double quotation marks":**_ quote

Thanks for reading!

-gimmecookiesorDIE


	3. Disillusionment

"_**When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself.**__**"**_

_**-**__**Wayne Dyer **_

Chapter 3- Disillusionment

"Sasuke-teme, do you always walk so slow? Come on! We're going to be late again!" Hoshi, Naruto, and Hinata were all going over to their regular dinner at Ichiraku Ramen. This time, however, they were bringing along another friend.

When Hoshi found out that Sasuke does nothing for dinner except eating alone and being emo, she insisted on dragging him along with them. He was alone all the time, she found it difficult not to empathize with him. She knew how that went, after all.

"Finally! I thought we would never get here! Man, I'm starved!" Naruto had been less than thrilled when Hoshi decided to drag Sasuke along, but he didn't care anymore. He completely understood her intentions, and he knew that it was what he would have done, had Sasuke not been such a teme.

"Hoshi-chan! Hinata-chan! Naruto-kun! We thought you'd never get here!" Kiba was pretty excited that his friends were here. He was disappointed not to be on their team, but he was glad that Hoshi ended up with Naruto and Hinata. He was less than pleased when he found out that Sasuke was the other kid on their team, but he could understand what the instructors were thinking; about the only people who would be able to break through the Uchiha's shell would be them three. But he would be very upset if he did anything to his best friends.

He had known that Hoshi was likely to bond quickly with the teme, but he was not expecting this. In retrospect, he was surprised that he didn't. However, this did mean that she wouldn't get too mad at him now… he still decided to voice his feelings. "Who's that? Sasuke-teme?"

Hoshi flinched. That horror-stricken voice could only mean one thing. Or in this case, two. There was a vague hint of relief in that sentence, and she knew what that meant. It appeared that they weren't the only ones to bring a newbie. Holding back a grimace, she asked with a smugly horrific tone, "Who's that, Kiba-kun? Ino? And Sakura?"

It was indeed Ino and Sakura. The blonde was currently in a discussion with the pinkette about God knows what, but it seemed like it was getting a bit heated. _Five bucks says it's about Sasuke, _Hoshi thought.

Anticipating the inevitable, Hoshi, Naruto, and Kiba covered their ears. It was only a matter of time before…

"SASUKE-KUN!" In a blur of pink and purple, Sasuke's number one fangirls were on him in seconds. Hoshi felt a rush of sympathy for the teme, but she quickly shrugged it off. He deserved it, he had really been a jerk today.

With that, she took her usual seat between Shikamaru and Kiba. It was a matter of seconds before they got into a deep discussion about fangirls and temes. It didn't take Chouji long to join in.

Hinata winced at the shout and she quickly walked over to her usual seat next to where Naruto usually sat. She wasn't all that surprised at the fangirls appearing there. They had brought Sasuke, after all. The boys must have had similar reasons to theirs.

She looked over and saw Naruto trying to talk to Sakura, who was currently drooling over Sasuke. The Hyuuga let out a disappointed sigh. She was at a loss as to how Hoshi thought that she could compete with Sakura.

She was startled out of these musings when Shino sat next to her. _He must have gotten bored._ Hinata's naturally selfless nature forced her to make conversation with the bug-user instead of wallowing in self-pity as she wanted. It wasn't long before they were deeply involved in a discussion about the politics in their respective clans.

Sasuke began walking toward the others with Sakura, Ino, and Naruto right behind him. He was surprised to see Hoshi with Shikamaru and Kiba, but not for very long. When he thought about it, they were perfect friends to her. He quickly took the seat next to Chouji, and it wasn't long before Ino and Sakura were fighting over the other. Deciding to ignore them, as always, he decided to order.

XXXXX

"Bye guys! See you at the same time, same place tomorrow!" With those words, Team 8 departed from the stand.

"Wait!" Kiba seemed to want to talk some more, despite the entire hour which was just spent socializing. He ran up to them and, to everyone's surprise, he turned towards Sasuke.

"Can I talk to you for a sec? Thanks." Without waiting for a response, Kiba dragged Sasuke off a couple of yards before ducking into a conveniently placed alley.

Everyone seemed to be in too much shock to say much of anything. Hoshi and Naruto spent a good minute staring into the direction Kiba and Sasuke had gone, as though waiting for their brains to function again. Hinata smiled a bit to herself; she had a was pretty sure about what Kiba felt the urgent need to talk to Sasuke about…

Kiba looked around, knowing he had to make this quick. "Look, teme, Hoshi-chan's shock won't stay forever, so I'm only going to say this once: if you hurt her, or Hinata-chan for that matter, you will have me to answer to. And probably not just me; Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji, Shino, Neji, the whole gang plus all the Hyuuga will come after you. So for your sake, DO. NOT. HURT. THEM. You got that?"

Sasuke, to his credit, didn't let even a smidget of his surprise show. To Kiba, his face never wavered. On the inside, however, he was in shock. It hadn't taken long for him to figure out that Kiba was close to Hoshi, but this was kind of ridiculous. And something told him that what he said was the truth; he would have many enemies were he to hurt either of his female teammates. He had no idea who this Neji was, but having the Hyuuga on his tail would be threat enough. He felt the odd twinge in his chest again, which he promptly wrote off to fear.

He knew that all those enemeies would definitely slow him down. He made his choice fairly quickly. "Alright, Kiba. Don't worry; if either of them get hurt, feel assured that it would not have been my fault."

Kiba let out a small sigh of relief. Good thing this ki knew what was good for him. "Okay, let's split then. And remember," he drew a finger across his neck in a slitting motion, "Don't even think about it."

With that, they walked out of the alley. Kiba was wearing his best me-threaten-no-way look while Sasuke had his usual impassive face on. Despite Hoshi's curiosity, she had a feeling that whatever transpired in the alleyway was not something to talk about. Quelling her urge to voice her questions, she waved before speeding away with her team.

XXXXX

"Bye Hina-chan! Give my love to Hiashi-san, Hana-chan, and Neji-kun!"

With that, Hoshi and Naruto split from Sasuke and Hinata. They had walked most of the way back in silence, and it had only been broken when they had reached the juncture in the road where Naruto and Hoshi had to split from Hinata and Sasuke, whose houses were in different directions. With quick goodbyes, they had separated in their respective groups.

Hinata and Sasuke started the quiet walk home. Hinata spoke first, having seen the questions in Sasuke's eyes, "Hana-chan is Hanabi, my little sister. Hiashi-san is my father. Neji-kun is my cousin. They're very close to my family, Hoshi especially. They usually come home with me, but this was a longer day than we had thought it would be. That's why she wanted to make sure that my family knows that she loves them. You're not the only one who's orphaned, you know. When she, and Naruto-kun too, find family, they stick with them."

Sasuke grunted his affirmation, feeling like he should let Hinata know that he had been listening. Her little speech had answered many questions, although he had a couple more twinges in his chest area again, which he was getting very good at ignoring. He did still have a couple questions though.

Luckily for him, Hinata wasn't done. "After Hoshi and I became friends, I brought her home with me a lot. She worked her way into my family's hearts in no time. Once Naruto came in, it was easy for him to fit too." Hinata shrugged, knowing that this was what Sasuke was curious about. Or at least, that this was all she could answer in response to his unspoken questions.

Sasuke was interested, despite his will to stay unattached. He was surprised tha Hoshi could work her way into the cold-eyed Hyuuga's hearts. He made a mental note to never judge a book by its cover again; he was too tired of all these surprises in one day, and they had all stemmed from his snap judgments. If he ever wanted to beat Iachi, he had to learn how not to be surprised so easily. That was when they arrived to his house.

Hinata offered a soft goodbye, which Sasuke responded with a light grunt. They parted ways.

XXXXXX

"I told you he'd be late! Why didn't you let me sleep in?" Hoshi seemed very upset, and Naruto grinned before holding his hands up in surrender. "Don't blame me! Hinata-chan's the one!"

With that, Hinata blushed and looked to her best friend. It was her fault that Hoshi was mad, after all. She should have stopped Hoshi's tirade against Naruto long ago. "I'm sorry, Hoshi-chan. I didn't want to risk it. Besides, I knew if you didn't get up when I told you too, you never would have."

At this, Hoshi looked down at the ground as though the meaing of life was being conveyed in the dirt. This action barely hid her blush. She couldn't deny that. Only Hyuuga could get her to wake up in the morning, and Hinata was the only one who usually cared to do so.

Sasuke smirked, unable to hide all his amusement. For the first time in 24 hours, he was not surprised by something Hoshi had done. It didn't shock him at all that she was difficult to wake up. His smirk grew wider. There would be no underestimation for him when he met Itachi, now that he knew that that was the reason for his constant surprise.

Their sensei were there, having arrived just as Sasuke's thoughts had taken a turn for the worse. Naruto and Hoshi made no effort to hide their feelings. "YOU'RE TWO HOURS LATE!"

Their male sensei grinned. "I'm sorry, there was a tree stuck in a cat… wait…"

"LIAR!" the two seemed very upset, and Kurenai wasted no time to get them calm. She knew exactly what to say to make them be quiet.

"The more time you spend arguing, the less time there is for training."

There was quite possibly no other line that would have gotten them to shut up. Satisfied, Kurenai told everyone to sit and start their introductions.

"I'll go first. My name is Yuuhi Kurenai. I like reading and shopping. I dislike people who fear and dislike because they don't understand. My dream is to become a great kunoichi."

Kakashi went next. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. There are things I like and thing I hate. I haven't really thought about my dream."

Everybody resisted the urge to face palm. _So the only thing we know is his name._

Naruto jumped up, his excitement tangible. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I like to eat ramen and hang out with my friends. I dislike people who judge people without getting to know them. My dream is to become the Hokage!"

His speech caused Kurenai, Hoshi, and Hinata to smile fondly. The guys kept their stoic faces, looking as though they seemed to not have heard anything he had just said.

Hoshi nudged Hinata, causing the latter to blush before clearing her throat. Hoshi and Naruto gave her supportive smiles, and Hoshi put her hand on her shoulder. Hinata smiled and seemed to gain some confidence. None of the other three people on their team missed this. "My name is Hyuuga Hinata. I like flower pressing, painting, and relaxing with my friends. I dislike people who bully others. My dream is to become a great clan head."

Hoshi and Naruto grinned and Hinata blushed. They all looked to Sasuke who, with a roll of his eyes, gave his introduction in a low voice, his voice acquiring the holier-than-thou attitude which seemed to be his trademark. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like a lot of things, and I don't really like anything. What I have is not a dream because I will make it a reality. I am going to—"

"Oh blah, blah, blah! You are such a drama queen, Sasuke-teme. Can you please cut to the chase? I would like to give my introduction sometime this year, you know!" Hoshi interrupted Sasuke's melodramatic speech with a yawn. She never did understand why people like theatrics so much. Besides, this kind of crap would so not flow with her, and the teme had better get used to it!

Her interruption was met with laughter from Naruto, a giggle from Hinata, a grin from Kurenai, and a thoughtful look from Kakashi. Kurenai's voice invaded his thoughts. _**She never seems to take any fluff from anyone. She is the only one who can stand up to him, who is not enamored by him. **_Kurenai is a more accurate judge of character than he thought.

Sasuke glared at her. The dramatic tension that he was building was completely gone now. She was always the only one who ever knew how to get under his skin. He quickly decided to continue as though there had been no interruption. With his low voice, he said, "I am going to kill a certain m—"

"Sasuke-teme, what did I just say about being dramatic? Maybe you should have become an actor instead of a ninja." Hoshi was getting seriously tired of his drama. He was acting like a teenage girl, for Pete's sake. They still hadn't larnt anything about him, for crying out loud.

This time, everyone but Sasuke couldn't help but laugh. They couldn't help it; the look on Sasuke's face was too good to pass up.

Sasuke lost it. He stood up, frustrated. "FINE! My name is Uchiha Sasuke! I like to train and spar! I dislike people who seem one way but are really another. My dream is to restore my clan and to kill my brother, Uchiha Itachi! Happy now?" With that little outburst, he sat back down and started a glaring contest with the ground.

Kakashi and Kurenai exchanged glances, both thinking the same thing. Hoshi appeared to be the only one who knew how to crack through the Uchiha's carefully composed shell. Naruto and Hinata laughed, on the same wavelength as their sensei. Hoshi always knew how to best get under anybody's skin.

Hoshi grinned. About time the prissy drama queen got off his actor butt and cut the crap. Now she could finally start her intro. She stood up and cleared her throat dramatically. She took a deep breath before speaking. "My name is Hoshi. I like eating ramen, training, and being a good friend. I dislike people who never try to be different and who never think about the present. My dream is… well I don't really know. For right now, I just want to be a great ninja."

XXXXX

Finally, with introductions out of the way, Kakashi spoke up. "Okay, team. It's time for some sparring. I want to gauge how advanced all of you are. These spars will be only taijutsu, for reasons you don't need to know about. First up: Hinata and Naruto."

Hinata seemed to freeze. Hoshi whispered something in her ear, which seemed to make her blush. She then pushed her up. Hinata then went over to stand across from Naruto.

As Kakashi called the start of the match, Kurenai sat next to Hoshi. "What did you tell her?" She had paired Naruto and Hinata together because she wanted to see how Hinata would do in a fight against the one person she would hate most to hurt. She had been surprised when Hinata went up there so quickly without a word of disagreement.

Hoshi smiled up at her new teacher. "I told her that the only way to get Naruto to like her is to impress him through her skills as a kunoichi."

Kurenai was impressed. Hoshi was more observant than she thought. "Why didn't you offer to take her place though?"

Hoshi shrugged. "Hinata-chan has to learn that I won't always be there to do the more unpleasant things in life. She has to learn that she is strong enough to do some things without me stepping in. Besides, she hates it when I spar him."

Kurenai raised her eyebrows I shock before turning to watch the match. It seemed that Hinata had chosen a friend with wisdom beyond her years. Hoshi really is a good friend.

Sasuke, who was eavesdropping, was impressed too. Hoshi appeared to have more to her than meets the eye.

Both their thoughts were interrupted by Kakashi. "Okay, I've seen enough. Hinata, Naruto, go rest. Sasuke, Hoshi, get on up here."

Hoshi glanced at her two friends. Hinata gave her a small smile and a nod to show that she was well. Naruto gave her a wide grin and a thumbs up, his way of telling her to whip the Uchiha's butt. Hoshi grinned and nodded at both of them.

"Are you both ready to fight?" It seemed Kurenai was proctoring this spar instead of Kakashi, who had just taken a seat next to Naruto. Hoshi and Sasuke nodded their assent.

"Okay then. Begin!" With that, Kurenai was gone, leaving just Sasuke and Hoshi in the middle of the field.

Sasuke was smirking. He knew she was worse than he was. How could she not be? He was an Uchiha; he was Rookie of the Year. This would be an easy fight. He wished he had been paired with a sensei.

He didn't want to drag this out, so he simply charged at her. A knockout punch would be the simplest way to end this.

Hoshi smirked as well before simply stepping aside. Sasuke sailed right past her, barely catching himself before slamming into a tree. He turned around with a look of shock on his face. There was no way she could have been able to see him and then dodge so fast. How did she do it?

Before he could go farther into his analysis, he was slammed to the side. He fell over, a pain erupting at where he'd been hit. He looked up. How had she been able to get from all the way over there to here so fast? And how did she have so much strength? He was hurting in such a small place, not large enough for a body to have hit him full on. It was either a kick or a punch.

He got up painfully, and readied himself. This was going to be more difficult than he thought. Hoshi smirked at him and quickly got into ready stance. That'll teach him to underestimate her.

He approached her again, but not in a charge like before. He was a bit more controlled. He aimed a punch at her stomach, which she easily dodged. She countered with an opposite hand punch to his stomach, which he had left open.

Ignoring the pain that immediately followed, he kicked at her head. This time she ducked and did a spinning ground kick, which knocked him off balance. He fell over again, a new pain sprouting in his ankle. He was pissed.

_No more Mister Nice Guy._ With that thought, he shot to his feet, in ready stance before she could blink. He quickly kicked at her ankles. She simply did a jumping kick to his head, simultaneously avoiding his kick and landing her own.

Not stopping to process the pain, he punched at her chest. She was still in the air and was forced to block. He quickly aimed a kick at her, but she beat him to it and had kicked at his knew before he could finish.

He collapsed again. Kurenai had seen enough. "End sparring! Go take a break, Hoshi, Sasuke. Kakashi and I need to talk."

Hoshi happily walked over to her friends, who were immediately looking at her arm. Her block had left a red mark, which would be a bruise tomorrow. Hoshi smiled and shrugged it off.

Sasuke was in such shock that it took him several minutes to sit up. He had only managed to touch her once, and it was only in a block. The only mark on her body was a bruise from blocking while he was sporting deep bruises over his stomach and on his side. He had a gash and another bruise over it on his knew, and another one at his ankle. He also had a black eye.

_This is ridiculous._ He had never been beaten in a spar. Ever. Heck, most people considered it extreme luck to even land a punch on him. He had thought Hoshi was one of those people. _ She had been holding back, too._ He knew she was. This aggravated him to a point that had never been reached before. He had made a mistake. He had judged her to be simply average, if anything below average. Today he had proved that she was definitely above average. _What else have I simply just assumed?_

By then, he had gotten up. Hoshi looked at him with apology written all over her face. She reached into her backpack and took out a bottle before walking over to him.

"Sorry, Sasuke-teme. I guess I got a little carried away. Come over here." She led him away from her friends and sat both of them down before opening the bottle. "Show me the worst bruise."

Sasuke grimaced. He didn't want her help again, didn't want to show weakness. But then he looked into her eyes, and all he saw was a wanting to help. Touched, he lifted his shirt to show her the bruise to his side. Hoshi winced.

"Sorry again. Here, let he apply this. It's some healing balm I made, I'm sure it'll help." With that, She smeared some over the forming bruise on his side, the one over his stomach, the injuries everywhere. To his surprise, they all began hurting less almost immediately.

Hoshi looked apologetic. "They should be healed by tomorrow. Just get a good night's rest. Sorry again."

With that, she got up with her almost empty bottle. She didn't seem to even be expecting a word of thanks, not that he would have given one.

Hoshi was about to pack away the rest of the healing balm when Kurenai approached. "Let me see that please, Hoshi."

Without a word, Hoshi handed it too her. Kurenai examined it, and she was impressed. _This is very meticulously made. I doubt any chuunin could have done a better job. The chakra control required to make this is immense. How does she have it?_ She handed it to Kakashi. "Anything unusual, senpei?"

With those words, she left him examining it and called together the rest of her team. Once they were all in front of her, she started. "The sparring went better than I had hoped. I shall now tell all of you your strengths and weaknesses, starting with Naruto.

"Naruto, you are a very bold and innovative ninja. You use what's around you to get an edge. You also are very good at dodging and at straight-on attacks. Unfortunately, you are not very good at manipulating your opponent, at making a plan. You also don't know how to recover from attacks very quickly. Your stance was poor, and you didn't appear to know how to have very close combat fighting. Your strength was good, your speed was not.

"Hinata, your stances were perfect. You were very good with moving fluidly from one step to another, you seemed to know what you were doing. However, you seemed to be unprepared to be creative, to use your surroundings to your advantage. If anything, you were not aware of your surroundings. Your dodging skills were good, your blocking skills were not. You were very fast, but whatever you landed were weak.

"Sasuke, you were good overall. There were good stances, speed, and strength. Your main weakness was underestimating your opponent. You also had some trouble recuperating once you fell due to your underestimation. You were unable to handle surprise, you don't know how to cope with battling someone better than you.

"hoshi, you surprised me most of all. You were perfect in almost every aspect. You could improve in speed and strength, but that's not saying much. You weren't very innovative with your surroundings, but you were aware of them. You showed a great deal of mercy. Now, I have a question. Your taijutsu is very good, so good that you could have failed at every other aspect of the genin test and still gotten into the top 10. Why, then, were you ranked at 15?"

Hoshi fidgeted, uncomfortable with the direction the conversation had taken. However, she had known this particular question would be asked at some point. She took a deep breath. "I purposely tried to get that rank. It was perfectly in the middle, perfectly average. If I was perfectly average, then I wouldn't draw attention to myself, and nobody could… hate me."

By the end, she looked so heartbroken that Naruto and Hinata immediately went to hug her. Sasuke even wanted to comfort her in some way. Kurenai was no longer confused. Oh no, she was now extremely angry. She was going to have to have a talk with the Hokage. For right now, she gave her a pat on the back, urging Kakashi and Sasuke to do the same.

Sasuke was ever so confused. Why would someone be hated for doing well? And why was she so sad? He had never seen her when she was not happy or angry. Sadness looked dreadfully… familiar on her face for some reason. He moved to place a hand on her back.

Kakashi was no longer confused either. He wasn't mad though. He felt hatred, a great amount of hatred directed at himself. He felt so completely stupid and like such a failure that it took a monumental effort to place his hand on Hoshi's other shoulder.

Naruto was saddened, for he knew exactly what she meant, although he wished he didn't. He knew that not much could get Hoshi down. This was one of her sore spots, and the fact that she told them was a sign of intimate trust. He knew that he would never let that trust down.

Hinata was on the verge of tears herself. She knew how Hoshi felt, but not to the same extent as Naruto. It was rare that Hoshi showed herself as this vulnerable, and there was no way she was letting Hoshi go through this alone. She had known that something was off when Hoshi got such a low rank. She just wished that the reason wasn't this sad.

Hoshi looked up. She hadn't shed a tear, something that broke Kurenai's heart. "I'm fine. What should we do to improve, Kurenai-sensei?"

Nobody was fooled. "Okay, I think we can talk about training once we get food into our stomachs, hmm? Hoshi, where do you want to go?"

Hoshi grimaced before saying, "If you don't mind, could we go to Arata's?" She knew they would probably like Arata's better than Ichiraku's and besides, the old man could make her feel better.

They all got up and walked over to the restaurant. By now, only Hinata and Naruto had kept contact with Hoshi, although the rest of Team 8 looked like they were forming some kind of shield. Sasuke couldn't help but notice the cold glances directed at them. He had noticed them the day before as well, but they had seemed to just now sink in. _What am I missing?_

XXXXX

All of them walked into Arata's silently. Nobody had said a word the journey here. Hoshi and Hinata seemed to exchange glances. Then Hinata spoke. "Sasuke, Naruto, could you come outside with me for a second?"

Sasuke understood immediately and got up, ignoring the weird twinge in his chest as he did so. Naruto looked like he was about to protest, but then Hinata shot him a look which shut him up. All three went outside.

Hoshi took a deep breath. "So, both of you know the S-class secret from my birthday, right?"

Her sensei looked astounded. How does she know about that? It wasn't called an S-class secret for nothing. They nodded, keeping their confusion inside.

Hoshi nodded back. "I know it, but Naruto –kun doesn't. Don't ask how I found out. I can't share all my secrets in the same day. The point is, I know why people hate me, which is why I did what I did with the ranks. If you want, you can retest me. The results may be surprising."

Kurenai spoke first. "Does anybody else know? Did you tell anyone?"

Hoshi shook her head. "However, Hina-chan knows. Don't ask how, just know she does."

Kurenai and Kakashi could be great poker players with how straight their faces were. Hoshi was tempted to throw a drink at them just to see if they were still alive.

"Don't say or hint at anything though. Naruto-kun has no clue, and Sasuke-teme doesn't either."

Kurenai and Kakashi nodded. Hoshi smiled. "Well, I'm glad that's off my chest." Then, as though on cue, the other three members of Team 8 walked in, and the rest of lunch passed with no incident.

XXXXX

"Okay, Kurenai-san and I have an idea for a training plan, but first we want to retest Hoshi-chan over the genin material, seeing as it looks as though it was faked. We don't want to go over the written again, since that would just be troublesome. We have instead decide to go over everything else. Hinata-chan, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, please go with Kurenai. She's going to help all of you with your taijutsu while I retest Hoshi-chan."

Kakashi announced all this without even a twitch in his facial features. None of Team 8 was surprised by this plan; seeing as Hoshi had made it kind of obvious that the exams had been rigged. With a couple of supportive glances, Kurenai, Sasuke, Hinata, and Naruto went to begin training.

XXXXX

_A few hours later_

Kurenai was spokesperson for the teachers this time around. "Okay, here's what's going to happen. As it turns out, Hoshi is just as good as Sasuke in everything we tested her over, and even better than him in taijutsu. We were expecting this, so we made no ramifications to our plan.

"We shall meet here everyday at 8 AM. Kakashi-san and I will help you with training in the mornings. After an hour lunch break, we will go get a mission from the Hokage, which will likely take up the afternoon. Once the mission is over, you are all free to do what you like until 8 AM the next day. Any questions?"

Hoshi mulled over this plan thoughtfully for a few moments. She did have a question, but she decided to ask it in private later.

Naaruto had no such qualms. "Will there be a breakfast break?"

All of Team 8 rolled their eyes. Trust Naruto's head to be in his stomach. "No Naruto. You will have to eat before training."

Sasuke and Hinata remained quiet, one to shy to speak and the other too used to not speaking. Kurenai nodded. "Okay then. Seeing as there is no more time today to take a mission, you are all released. Be back here tomorrow, 8 sharp."

She had barely finished her sentence before Naruto dashed off. He seemed intent on getting some food. Hinata looked at Hoshi questioningly. She was usually right beside him. Hoshi smiled, letting her know without words that she'll be there later. Hinata nodded back and lead Sasuke to their usual dinner place.

Hoshi approached her sensei. "I have a couple questions. Is it okay if we occasionally train with some of the other teams? I'm sure it will be beneficial to learn about different fighting styles and it will help all of us to stay close."

Kakashi chuckled before taking the lead. "Hoshi, that was the plan in the first place. So yes, we will occasionally train with some of the other teams, but don't worry as to when and who."

Hoshi nodded, appeased. "Also, would either of you mind if I train after dinner? And if I have time after a mission? I'm asking because it would be immensely helpful if wither of you stayed too, although you really don't have too."

She ended looking shyly at the ground, reminding both adults of Hinata. Kurenai spoke before Kakashi had the chance. "Hoshi, I don't mind at all, and I'm sure Kakashi-senpai won't either. We'll alternate days, but everyday you will get some after-session training. Now, go eat before your friends start without you."

With a grin, Hoshi bowed. "Thank you so much, Kurenai-sensei, Kakashi-sensei! See you tomorrow!" With those words, she dashed off almost as fast as Naruto had.

With a happy sigh, Kurenai turned to look at Kakashi. He raised an eyebrow. "How do you know that I will alternate days?"

Kurenai smiled innocently which, paradoxically, gave Kakashi some fear. "I know you will because you don't want to know what will happened to you if you don't."

With those comforting words, Kurenai disappeared with the leaves. Kakashi shook his head. _Team 8 will be the death of me, I swear it._

XXXXX

"Don't you guys get tired of eating ramen everyday?"

Sasuke seemed to be unable to contain his curiosity. It was just ridiculous, how much ramen the two of them ate. And everyday? He could barely suppress a shudder.

Hoshi and Naruto gaped at him as though he had announced his love for all things pink. Simultaneously, they shouted, "NEVER!"

Hinata sighed. It seemed Sasuke always asked the questions which should never be asked. "Anyway, we have arrived to the junction. Sasuke-san, would you mind taking Naruto-kun home?"

Naruto started. "I don't need an escort! I can make it just fine alone!"

Hoshi rolled her eyes before smirking at Hinata. Hinata gulped and blushed so deeply it seemed as though she would never return to her normal color again. Softly, she asked, "Please, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto softened, just as Hoshi and Hinata had known he would. He let out a dramatic sigh. "For you ladies, I will tolerate this teme."

Sasuke raised an eebrow. "Why would I take him home? Who said I said yes?"

Hoshi looked at him and decided that the kind approach would work best here. "Sasuke-teme, can you please accompany Naruto-kun home before heading to your house?"

Sasuke slouched ever so slightly and ran a hand thorugh his hair. _Why not? She said please…_

"Let's go, dobe." Sasuke was leading Naruto down the road before anyone could blink. Hoshi stood up a little straighter.

"I told you please is the magic word, Hina-chan! Now come on, we have a family waiting for us."

Hinata shook her head with a smile. She would let Hoshi believe whatever she wanted to believe… for now.

XXXXX

"If you have a question, just ask it. What's the point of just scowling at the ground as thugh it has refused to answer?"

Naruto was tired of the teme's brooding. He could tell there was a question in the Uchiha's mind, so why won't he ask it already?

Sasuke was stunned. Really, what was with Team 8 and being able to read his mind? It was bordering on ridiculous.

"Why is Hoshi going with Hinata?" Blunt was always best in Sasuke's world.

Naruto rolled his eyes. This was the question the teme had been avoiding? "Hoshi-chan and the Hyuuga are like family. She spends every other night there in order to spend time with them and to talk to Hinata-chan in private. About girl stuff." Naruto shrugged, since e had long ago given up trying to understand girl stuff.

Sasuke was still slightly confused. How did Hoshi, a civilian for all he thought, get so clpse with the most prestigious clan of Konoha? And where does she actually live? Naruto chose to put him out of his misery. Well, he tried too.

"Hoshi-chan and Hinata-chan have a past. There was an incident which, I believe, ties Hoshi-chan to the Hyuuga through Hinata-chan. It didn't take long for the clan to like her. Hoshi doesn't actually have her own place. She stays with me, in my apartment."

Talk about an information overload. Naruto's explanation raised more questions than answered. He was very curious now, and not the least because something had twinged when he heard that Hoshi lived with Naruto. That was what drove him to, for once, voice his thoughts.

"Hoshi lives with you?" Despite his weird yet strong urge to find out the truth, he was unable to voice all his questions. His brain had, apparently, chosen the most obvious one as the most important one.

Naruto grinned before nodding an affirmation. "Yeah, she has for a while now. We both needed a place to stay at the same time, so the Hokage decided to just get us one apartment to share instead of two separate ones. We look an immediate liking to each other, sand we never found a reason for either of us to move. So neither of us ever did. I understood Hoshi-chan's need to spend every other night with the Hyuuga, so I accepted spending every other night alone. Not a lot of fun, I grant you, but it's worth it."

Sasuke shook his head which, unfortunately, did nothing to help his confusion. Deciding that giving up on trying to fin anwers would be the best course of action for right now, he shut up. They had walked quietly for all of thirty seconds before Naruto asked excitedly, "Hey, Sasuke-teme, you're an orphan too right?"

Sasuke looked up, annoyed at being caught off guard yet again. "Why, dobe?"

"You spend the night alone?"

Sasuke shrugged, unwilling to think off the loneliness he goes through every night. He chose not to answer.

Naruto grinned. Mayeb he didn't have to be alone every other night. Sure it's weird to spend the night with your rival, but he is also a teammate. Besides, he seems lonely too.

"Why don't we sleep together?"

If Sasuke had been drinking anything, it would have flowb across the room. Naruto blushed before backtracking. "Nononono not like that! I meant spend the night! Like a sleepover or something! So that I won't be alone!"

_It seems as though the dobe doesn't think before speaking. What he just said is not helping the situation._ But he understood what Naruto was trying to say. He couldn't help but consider it, which lead to him thinking about how alone he always felt…

…And he was agreeing with a silent nod before he could stop himself. And Naruto grinned so widely that Sasuke was surprised his skin could take it. "AWESOME! Come on, we'll sleep in my apartment! No wait, you need your stuff don't you… I know! I'll send a bunshin!"

Before Sasuke could comprehend what the blonde had said, a bunshin was rushing past him in a haste to get to his apartment. He wondered offhandedly how he knew where he lived, but he quickly shook it off. He was sure that he didn't want to know.

And that night, despite Naruto's ramblings and thrashing while he was asleep, Sasuke slept better than he had in years.

XXXXX

_**Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival. ~C.S. Lewis**_

Author's Note:

_Italics:_ Actual thoughts

_**Boldand Italics**_**:** Flashbacks

"_**Boldand Italics with double quotation marks":**_ quote

Sorry I'm late! School started, and I am swamped. Just keep checking every Monday, but don't be surprised if it takes me up to two weeks to get a chapter out. This one is unedited, so I'm sorry about that.

Thanks for you patience and reading!

-gimmecookiesorDIE


	4. Missions

_**One must always be aware; to notice even though the cost of noticing is to become responsible.**___

_**-**__**Thylias Moss **_

Chapter 4- Missions

"What's your favorite restaurant, Sasuke-teme? We need breakfast."

Hoshi was oddly unsurprised at finding that Sasuke had spent the night, while Sasuke was very surprised at how well he had slept and how punctual Hoshi had been. She had come over at 7, demanding to know where to go for breakfast. The boys had actually just finished getting ready by the time she had come.

"I do enjoy Kunio's Café." It seemed that Sasuke still thought that less was more, at least when it came to talking. Nonetheless, they were all sitting at that café in 10 minutes.

Sasuke noticed Hinata giving the waiter a glare as they entered. He had also noticed that the waiter's face had turned angry and cold when he had seen them. Sasuke guessed that they probably wouldn't have been able to eat there had Hinata not glared. It was odd, seeing the normally shy and kind heiress look so angry. He also thought it odd that someone was glaring at them, a Hyuuga and an Uchiha. This meant that he was probably glaring at Hoshi or Naruto. He wondered what was up briefly before he caught himself and quickly put it out of his mind, deciding that all his attentions were supposed to be directed towards Itachi, not at why the village seemed to hate either Hoshi or Naruto.

They quickly ordered. Afterwards, silence descended on the table. Sasuke found this to be a bit more than odd. He had only been around the group of three for two days, but even he knew that it was never so quiet.

They were sitting how they were sitting at Arata's the day before, with Hoshi next to Hinata. Hoshi seemed down for some reason, and Hinata looked like she was trying to comfort her without words. Naruto seemed sad too, and Hinata was trying to buck him up at the same time. This, however, wasn't really working out for her.

Sasuke sighed a bit, knowing that if he wanted a decent conversation or to at least break the hated silence, he would need to start it. He told himself that he was talking not to comfort, but just because he was bored.

"What mission do you think we're going to get?" It was the only question that seemed like he would ask that would start a conversation. Hoshi, Naruto, and Hinata were surprised that Sasuke knew how to instigate a conversation. Naruto and Hoshi found no reason to keep their thoughts to themselves, unlike Hinata.

"IT SPEAKS!" Hoshi chose to go with her usual dramatic yet funny antics.

"I had no clue that you knew how to start a conversation, teme! I thought that you only knew how to answer direct questions!" Naruto had a slightly more intelligent reaction, oddly enough. Sasuke blushed ever so slightly.

Hinata decided to put him out of his misery. "A D-rank, of course. Maybe painting a house or something."

It took Naruto longer than Hoshi to get that Hinata was answering the question that had caused such violent reactions. Thus, Hoshi responded first. "Naw, we'll probably get the cat mission." All three shuddered. Sasuke was confused.

"There's this cat, Tora, who is constantly running away from her master. Whenever she does, a D-rank is born. It's the infamous cat retrieval mission. No one comes back unscathed, and every genin team gets it. Guaranteed scratches." Hoshi, with her usual observational skills, had noticed Sasuke's understandable confusion. Thus, she told the story of Tora with her usual flare.

Hinata rolled her eyes. Naruto grinned, having an idea. "Come on, Hoshi-chan, don't scare the poor kid."

Sasuke spluttered, disbelief in his eyes. Luckily, the disbelief overpowered the small warm tingle that had come with successfully bringing Hoshi and Naruto out of their funk.

Naturally, he focused on Naruto's comment. Please! Like him, an _Uchiha_, would be scared of a cat. He was about to say so, but their food arrived. Naruto couldn't help but grin to himself. He had figured a comment like that would upset the Uchiha.

They all dug in, respectively. Hoshi and Naruto fell on their food as though they hadn't eaten in days. Hinata ate slower than then, pronounced grace with her every move. Sasuke ate slowly too, but more because he was in awe at the speed at which Hoshi and Naruto were shoving food into their mouths. Hoshi was much cleaner than Naruto though.

They were finished in no time. They quickly paid the check and left, each wondering how their first day of training would go.

XXXXX

"Let's start with a lap around the field for a warm-up! And by 'let's' I mean 'you'll' so snap too." Kakashi gave orders with his usual Sasuke-like bluntness.

Suppressing their groans, the four genin started running. Kurenai looked at Kakashi with a smile. "This may be the first time I have ever seen you arrive on time. Congratulations. You had better get used to doing it everyday if you want to wake up everyday." She flashed her innocent-yet-disturbing smile before walking off. Kakashi gulped. _Of all the kunoichi, I had to get stuck with the only one of two who scares me._

The kids finished their lap. Kurenai clapped her hands together with a smile. "Okay, we're going to look at ninjutsu today. Kakashi-senpai and I will teach you all a couple defensive ones."

She grinned. Kakashi cleared his throat, starting them off. "Replacement." He performed it slowly so that the students could catch the hand signs. He replaced himself with a log, deciding to keep it simple. "Okay, your turn."

They all started to perform hand signs. Kurenai did not let any of them perform the jutsu until they were all doing the hand signs fast enough for her satisfaction. That is to say, pretty dang fast. All of them got the hand signs at around the same time, which was relatively short. Getting the jutsu, however, took a little more time.

Naruto and Hoshi kept overloading the jutsu, which caused it not to work. Kakashi walked over and showed them how much chakra was needed to successfully perform the jutsu.

Sasuke took a while to find the right amount of chakra but, with a little help from Kurenai, he got it first.

Hinata never put enough chakra into the jutsu. With Kurenai's help, she got it at around the same time as Hoshi.

Naruto took longest, seeing as he was never capable of suppressing chakra while Hoshi had worked hard at learning how to properly suppress it. While Kakashi worked with him, Kurenai turned to the others with a smile. "Okay, next. I want all of you to learn the Mud Wall technique. It can block many jutsus effectively. So watch closely."

Sasuke, Hoshi, and Hinata got the signs quickly. Performing it, however, was slightly different.

This time, Hinata got it quickest, Hoshi right behind her. Since they both had just learned how to raise and lower their chakra, respectively, it only took a couple of tries to get it right. Or at least, that was what they thought. Kurenai smirked. _They either have water or earth nature. Not a surprise, I suppose. _

Sasuke was having problems, which was not surprising to Kurenai. He probably had lightning or fire nature, as all Uchihas did. This was a water and earth technique, which are lightning and fire's opposites.

Sasuke was frustrated. How could he, an Uchiha, not get such a simple technique when a civilian and a Hyuuga got it? His parents would be disappointed that he lost to a Hyuuga, and a civilian nonetheless. Kurenai decided to help. Time for a mini-lesson on nature manipulation.

"Hoshi, Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke come sit down. I have a small lesson for you all." She interrupted the girls' conversation and Kakashi trying once again to show Naruto how to suppress his chakra. He was just not getting it. Sasuke looked up and walked over.

"Okay, I am going to give all of you a brief overview of nature manipulation, mainly for Sasuke's benefit. All you need to know right now is this.

"Every person's chakra is naturally suited to an element: earth, fire, water, wind, or lightning. All of the elements have a weakness and strength. Fire, which is what most Uchiha's naturally prefer, is strong against wind and weak against water. Wind is strong against lightning but weak against fire. Lightning is strong against earth but weak against wind. Earth is strong against water but weak against Lightning. To complete the circle, water is strong against fire but weak against earth.

"These five elements are what the 5 Great Shinobi Nations are named after and the basis for all elemental ninjutsu.

"The Mud Wall technique combines Earth and Water. I suspect the girls got it quickly because they are suited to either earth or water. Sasuke, you are most suited to fire. That's why this technique is so hard for you. You will eventually get it, but only if you think more like earth and water than fire.

"Sasuke, please practice this technique on your own time. Any questions?"

Kakashi was silently applauding. He doubted he could have given a better explanation.

Sasuke was smirking. Good to know that it was something like this, something he had almost no control over. He was still superior to Hoshi and Hinata.

Hoshi smirked as well, both at seeing Sasuke's smirk and at the explanation. Little did Sasuke know that she and Hinata were far ahead of him. It pleased her to know that she was either water or earth, the same as her best friend. She hoped she was water. She would love to be able to kick the Uchiha's butt. Again.

Hinata smiled softly to herself. No wonder she had gotten the technique so quickly. She would have to ask her father if there was an element most Hyuuga have.

Naruto was silent, but it was mostly because he was still absorbing the plethora of information.

Kurenai looked around, satisfied that there were no questions. "Good. Okay, now is a good time to break for lunch. Be back here in one hour." With that, her and Kakashi leaped off.

Team 8 exchanged glances. Without a word, they headed off to Arata's.

XXXXX

"Team 8! I was wondering when you would come in for your first mission. Let's see, what do we have in store for you…" The Hokage was smiling, happy to see that Team 8 had finally come in. Hoshi and Naruto always knew how to brighten up his day.

His smile turned slightly mischievous when he landed on the piece of paper he was looking for. Naruto and Hoshi, who recognized that look, gulped.

"Tora Retrieval Mission!" This was met with loud cries of displeasure from Hoshi and Naruto and a slight shudder but an accepting nod from everyone else.

Hoshi and Naruto glared at the old man. Hoshi spoke up. "Ojiisan, you are one cruel old man."

Everyone in the room gasped, save Naruto, Hoshi, and the Hokage. Kurenai was braced for a reprimand on her and Kakashi for not teaching their students respect. But then she was surprised by laughter coming from said village leader.

"Always the dramatic one, Hoshi-chan. Yes, I will have to admit that I am a sadist. Now run off while I laugh at your pain." With that, the Hokage gestured for the next team to come in. Team 8 was a little slow in filing out, thanks to the shock most of them were feeling.

Kurenai, Kakashi, and Sasuke were shocked by how close the Hokage seemed to be to Hoshi and slightly by the Hokage's sense of humor. For some reason, each had thought their leader would have no humor. All three swore to find out why the relationship between them was so strong.

Hinata was surprised by the Hokage's humor. She knew Hoshi and Naruto were very close to the Hokage and she didn't know why, although she did have a better idea than the rest of her team.

Hoshi was grumbling about cruel sadist old men while Naruto was wondering what on earth sadist meant.

XXXXX

"I told you, Sasuke-teme. This is what happens when you don't listen to me. Geez, you'd think you would've figured out by now that I'm always right." Hoshi was currently sitting next to Sasuke in front of the Hokage's office, since there was a line before they could get in with their successful mission. She was rubbing some more of her healing balm onto Sasuke's new scratches, which were pretty much everywhere. In Hoshi's defense, she had tried to warn him.

"Hn." It seemed as though Sasuke disliked discussing his failures. It was true that Hoshi had warned him that going in alone would result in something like this. But why would he, an Uchiha, listen to a civilian? Exactly.

Hoshi scoffed. She was getting more adept at reading the Uchiha's thoughts. "It is possible for a cat to get the best of the Rookie of the year. Remind me of that the next time I'm too lazy to beat you up, okay teme?"

This comment was directed towards her friends in an attempt to get them to laugh, but she quickly realized that they didn't need her help. They both seemed to be deep in an enjoyable conversation about their first mission. Hoshi couldn't help but smile, a mix of triumph, sadness, and fondness clearly evident on her face. She had been trying to get them to talk without her help for ages and now that they had finally done it, she was afraid of losing them.

She quickly squashed those feelings. Whatever was happening here was for their own good. She was not going to hold them back from their happiness.

Sasuke had watched this play of her feelings run across her face. He had been tempted to give her a reassuring hug when he had seen the sadness there but, much like Hoshi had just done, he squashed those feelings. Absolutely nothing would get in the way of Itachi and him, not even his heart.

It was then that they were called in.

The Hokage smiled at the sight of the team when they walked in. Sasuke was covered in scratches, although it was hard to tell since they were covered with white-but-fading-quickly healing balm. He had known when he had assigned this mission that Sasuke would try to take it on alone. It was funny to see that he was right.

"Here's the kitty!" Hoshi announced this proudly. Sasuke had been surprised to say the least that, after he had captured the kitty after a pretty rigorous fight, that it had leaped into Hoshi's arms extremely willingly as soon as it had seen her. He had originally thought that it had been trying to get away, and he was right up to a point.

Hoshi, for her part, only shot him a smile full of humor before walking away with the kitty snuggling most willingly into her arms. Sasuke had followed a bit grudgingly.

The Hokage had known of the kitty's fondness for Hoshi. That was why he had assigned the team the mission. He had also known that Sasuke would not listen to anything Hoshi said. _Well, now he knows what not listening to Hoshi-chan can lead to,_

"Thank you, Hoshi-chan. Dismissed." And just like that, their first mission was over. It had left all but the most foolish unscathed, which was something the rest of the team would forever laugh at.

XXXXX

"Okay, team. Since this is only your first day, we'll let you go." Kurenai had felt bad for keeping them as late as they had yesterday, and she was now trying to make it up to them.

Kakashi chose to butt in. "Don't do anything I would do!"

Kurenai rolled her eyes while Hoshi sniggered. Suddenly, she brightened.

"Come on! It's only 3:00! We have to go over to Hina-chan's house! 8:00!" Hoshi raced off to Hinata's house. It had been a while since she had gotten the chance to spend time with her favorite clan, and plus today would be Sasuke's introduction. She knew that the Hyuuga and Uchiha were rivals, but they didn't have to know she knew!

Naruto was right behind her. He couldn't wait to see his favorite family either. He, too, was looking forward to introducing the Uchiha. The prankster in him just couldn't help himself; he wanted to see the look on the elder Hyuugas' faces. He smiled evilly.

Hinata and Sasuke lagged behind, mostly because one was in no rush and the other was a bit scared, although he would never admit it. He felt as though he was looking for… approval. Which was odd, considering he was going to his clan's enemy's house. Still, he couldn't help feeling a bit apprehensive, and not for the right reasons.

Naturally, Hinata noticed this. She approached the problem as subtly as she knew how, which was pretty dang subtle. "Father had been waiting to meet my new teammate, as well as Neji-niisan and Hana-otouto. Remember to behave yourself, Sasuke-san."

Sasuke was a bit relieved and annoyed with her statement. He ignored the relieved part of him and focused on his annoyance. How did Team 8 keep managing to get past his barriers? It was like it was easy for them, and once they did they made sure to address it. Almost as if they were taking responsibility for what they noticed to help him out.

Stuck in his thoughts, they had arrived before he knew it. Hoshi and Naruto wasted no time sprinting into the house, yelling "I'M HOME!" louder than he had ever thought possible. Hinata giggled before stepping in before him.

Hoshi and Naruto were standing in the middle of many children, for it seemed as though their call was a signal for all the Hyuuga children to attack them like they would do a good friend who had been gone for some time.

They were currently in the middle of an all-out tickle war, traditional for them, a bit of a surprise for the Uchiha. Shouldn't the Hyuuga kids be like little robots, never showing any emotion? He knew they did, that was how they acted in the marketplace. But it seemed as though, with Hoshi and Naruto, they were just… kids.

Caught up in these thoughts, he didn't notice Hinata quickly moving away from the huddle. Once he realized she had done so and was preparing to follow her, it was too late.

Before he knew what was happening, a blur attacked him. He was bracing himself for pain, since that was to be expected when something lands on him like that. He couldn't believe he had let his barriers down so low. He felt fingers coming at him and braced himself…

… Only to be tickled in the sides, his most vulnerable spots. Nonetheless, he couldn't help but laughing at the sensation. It had been so long since he had been tickled, and it was a rather pleasant sensation to just laugh.

Hoshi seemed to be having just as much fun as he was, laughing as though she were the one being tickled. She had never heard the Uchiha laugh before. _He should laugh more often._ When he was laughing, it seemed as though the weight he was forever carrying on his shoulders lightened just a bit.

Just when the thought that he should start to tickle her back entered his mind, Hoshi got lifted off of him.

Hiding his disappointment, he quickly stifled the rest of his laughter and stood up with just as stoic a face as before. He found that Hoshi was currently being held away from him by an older boy, probably only by a year though. He had long hair, which was tied back towards the end, and was wearing the traditional white Hyuuga robes with the Hyuuga eyes. He couldn't help but wonder who this boy must be, if he could handle Hoshi so easily and so familiarly. It bugged him, however he chose not to dwell into the why.

Hoshi, for her part, was certainly not trying her best to get out of his hold. It had been a while since they had been here at the same time, and she was currently letting Neji delude himself into thinking that he could overpower her. She grinned before turning around and hugged him. She really had missed him, after all. It came as no surprise to her when he hugged her back, and just as tightly. She saw him as a big brother, and she was sure he felt the same way about her.

Then she realized that Sasuke would have no idea who this boy was. She turned her head slightly, so that she would be able to hug Neji and make eye contact with Sasuke at the same time. "Sasuke-teme, this is Neji. Hemi-kun, this is Sasuke."

If either boy was surprised at the slightly odd introduction, neither showed it. In fact, the Hyuuga had hardly showed any emotion at all, even when being hugged by his favorite little sister and that she had changed his honorific. At a loss, Neji let go of Hoshi. He held her hand instead, as though she were a little girl again. "Uchiha Sasuke. I have been wondering who my cousin and friends have been training with." He ignored Naruto and Hoshi's surprised looks. He usually referred to them as his siblings.

Sasuke was not surprised. Of course Hoshi and Naruto were friends with this Hyuuga, who seemed to be one of the most stoic of them all. He felt and ignored the, despite his best efforts, getting-familiar slight pinching sensation in his chest area when he saw how protectively Neji seemed to be holding Hoshi's hand.

Nonetheless, he answered quickly and shortly, despite the feeling as though he were in some kind of test. "Hello, Neji."

With that, Hoshi turned towards said Hyuuga with questions in her eyes. Neji could barely restrain his smile, although it showed in his eyes. He decided to pop her bubble before it got too big and answered her unasked questions. "Hoshi-chan, later. Most of it is confidential anyway."

And thus, with a pout she didn't even try to conceal, she looked at him. Neji could feel his heart melting, as he always did whenever Hoshi turned that pout on him. Naruto came to his rescue.

"Neji!" He pretty much tackled him with his hug, although Neji somehow managed to stay on his feet. He hugged him back as well, although it wasn't as tight as when he hugged Hoshi. He put him down Justas he felt a new commanding presence behind him. He couldn't hold back his smirk.

"Sasuke. A pleasure to finally meet you." That commanding voice which seemed to hold so many tones could only belong to Hiashi. After all, only he could say such polite words with such a different meaning all while holding a poker face. He seemed to be saying how much it was _not_ a pleasure to meet him, and that a test was starting.

Hoshi knew all this, seeing as she had lived here for most of her life. Despite her wanting to see him torture her newest friend, she couldn't help herself. She ran at him and gave him a hug.

Hiashi was not surprised, and he hugged her back with no hesitation. His eyes showed love and endearment, but only for the space of a few seconds. Again, this surprised Sasuke. The Hyuuga head, known throughout Konoha for his ability to never show emotion at all, just hugged someone who wasn't even his daughter. _Really, what's going on here? _

Then Hoshi backed off, in order to let his actual daughter give him a slightly more formal greeting. But only slightly, seeing as said daughter hugged him too after saying hi. Hiashi chuckled, and the love again present in his eyes touched Neji's, and Team 8's, hearts.

Sasuke chose to just stop noticing the effect Hoshi seemed to have on people. It was far too tiring, really, to always be surprised. She always seemed to completely ignore his expectations and then substitute a new, and usually better, impression on him.

Shaking his head, he looked up again only to find Hoshi now hugging a little girl who could be a mini-Hinata. It was obvious that she loved Hoshi as much as she loved her by-blood sister. Sasuke quickly looked away, finding that he was noticing her surprises again.

Really, what was it about Hoshi that seemed to simply draw people to her? And why was he even wondering about this? _Itachi. My mind must always focus on Itachi. No one else._

XXXXX

"Bye!" Hoshi and Naruto were still waving wildly at the house as they walked away to their favorite dinner restaurant. Hinata, more poised by far, simply waved slightly back. Sasuke hardly even looked back.

They had spent four hours over there, but it had felt like much longer. Even a blind man would have been able to see how the Hyuuga treated Hoshi and Naruto like family. It just served to remind him of everything he had lost, which had put him into a foul mood.

"Sasuke-teme, lighten up!" Hoshi had seen the look of pain on Sasuke's face, despite his efforts to hide it. After spending almost all her life with the Hyuuga, Sasuke's poker face was not even a challenge to read.

Sasuke jerked, wrenched from his sad thoughts. He didn't even start to wonder at her ability to read him like a book, so determined was he to not notice anything about her. Unfortunately, he began doing it again almost instantly.

They were walking on a road instead of roof hopping, so they actually saw people as they walked. Sasuke was noticing all the glares that seemed to be directed at them.

Wait… it wasn't at all of them. They seemed to be focused on Hoshi and Naruto, as usual. Jeez, this was getting ridiculous. Now that he got to know them, he knew neither would ever hurt a fly. So why were they getting so much hate? Deciding to leave it for another time, Sasuke glared at anyone who was looking at them.

Hoshi and Naruto, used to blocking out the waves of hate directed at them, simply stared ahead. But they both noticed when people started looking away, going back to whatever they were doing. They looked around, and Hoshi saw Sasuke glaring at anyone who so much as blinked at them.

Surprised and extremely grateful, she brushed her hand against his in order to get his attention. It did all right. Sasuke nearly jumped when he felt the touch and the resulting tingles. He looked at her.

Hoshi smiled before mouthing 'thank you'. Sasuke smiled subconsciously to himself in response to her smile, although he didn't know why. He shook his head for what felt like the millionth time that day. _Itachi. The monster who killed your family, everyone you loved. Itachi. Not cute little Hoshi. Itachi._

XXXXX

"Hey guys, I'm going to have to leave you here. I have an appointment. Don't worry about it!" Hoshi was determined to be punctual to her first private meeting with her teachers, but she knew her friends would follow her if she didn't hijack it out of there, and fast. She didn't want them to feel putout by any extra attention towards her.

Using all her strength, she ran as fast as she could away from her friends. This was pretty fast, and it left her teammates in the dust. They all quickly gave up any idea of following her, Hinata because she knew that if she had wanted them to come along, she would have slowed. Naruto because he knew she could be slippery and not be found when she wanted too. And Sasuke because he was determined to crush any feelings of friendliness towards Hoshi, who was slowly but steadily worming her way into his heart.

XXXXX

_Two Weeks Later_

"Take your pick, Hoshi-chan, Naruto-kun. Painting a house, walking some dogs, cleaning the—"

"Ojiisan, you give me ONE MORE D-rank, and I shall throw a tantrum." It seemed Hoshi had enough, although her weird childish threat raised Sasuke's eyebrow.

Said Uchiha was even more confused when the Hokage actually looked scared at this idea. Jeez, what was the big deal about a fourteen-year-old girl throwing a tantrum?

His thoughts were interrupted. "Hoshi-chan, really. How old are you?" Sasuke realized that the fear on the Hokage's face was an act. He scowled; disappointed in himself that he had fallen for such a cheap trick.

"Sadly, though, I do see your point, Hoshi-chan. Kurenai-san, Kakashi-san, do you believe your team is ready for a C-rank?" If anyone was surprised by the Hokage's sudden change of heart, only Hoshi and Naruto showed it. _Really, can't those two hide emotions better than that?_ Sasuke couldn't help but think.

Kakashi and Kurenai looked at each other before nodding an affirmative. That was all that was needed for the Hokage. "Alright-y then. I guess you guys can handle this mission then." He pulled out a thin file from the stack of C-ranks, much to the team's delight.

He cleared his throat. "You are all assigned with escorting a bridge-builder, named Tazuna, back to his village in the Land of Waves. Once there, you must all stay there for however long he might need you. Estimated time away from village will be 10 days. You will find your customer waiting at the entrance to the village. Dismissed."

He handed Kakashi the folder while Hoshi and Naruto did a little dance of happiness. They ran out of the room, Hoshi yelling, "Thanks, Ojiisan! See you soon!" as she ran out. When the door shut behind them, the Hokage couldn't help but smile to himself. "Good luck, Team 8."

XXXXX

Within 10 minutes, Team 8 was packed and ready to go at the gate. Hoshi and Naruto could hardly hold still, bouncing in place with excited grins on their faces. Sasuke rolled his eyes at them while Hinata smiled softly.

The client, however, was less than amused. "You four punks are my protection? There's no way you guys are even ninja!"

All four turned to glare at him. Well, the guys did. The girls chuckled a bit and were about to speak up, but their two sensei had arrived.

"Let's get going." Kakashi headed off with hardly a hello towards the client. Kurenai rolled her eyes.

"Hold it, senpai. Hi, Tazuna-san, we will be your escorts to the Land of Waves. I'm Yuuhi Kurenai and this is Hatake Kakashi. We are the leaders of this team.

"This is Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Hinata, Uzumaki Naruto, and Hoshi, our students. They will all protect you to the best of their ability, which is actually pretty good, so don't go degrading them. Alright, now we'll move out."

Kurenai finished the introductions quickly and was now assigning the team where to stand in order to guard the client effectively. It was quickly decided that Kakashi would walk in the lead, Hinata would walk in the back, Hoshi and Sasuke got his left, and Kurenai and Naruto got his right.

They set off quickly, the protective circle around Tazuna never wavering, their mouths never opening. Until they crossed a puddle.

Noticing this, Kakashi twitched; making sure Kurenai knew that he knew about the puddle. Hoshi, surprising Kurenai, nudged Sasuke ever so slightly before looking back at Hinata with a subtle wink.

Sasuke had started before realizing what the Jounin and Hoshi had already noticed. He cursed himself as he braced, wondering how he had missed such an obvious clue that the civilian had caught on to.

Hinata had given the slightest of nods back, telling Hoshi that her assumption was true. She then looked at Naruto. Feeling her gaze, he glanced back. She nodded in the direction of the puddle with a raised eyebrow.

Naruto caught on quicker than Kurenai or Sasuke had thought he would and braced himself. Kurenai was shocked at the teamwork and observational skills present here. She had thought the team would be caught completely off guard or that, if someone figured it out, that they would keep it to themselves. But the whole team had known about the threat in the space of a few seconds. She had really got to learn to stop these assumptions, especially when it came to Team 8.

Just then, to nobody's surprise except for Tazuna, Kakashi was sliced in half, followed by Kurenai. All the genin pretended to be surprised before getting into ready positions quickly. Hoshi was the one shouting out orders.

"Naruto, guard Tazuna with your clones. Hinata, stay near Tazuna too. Sasuke, let's go." Hoshi dropped the honorifics to save time, and it was a good thing she had too. Two bodies came barreling out of the trees as soon as Naruto and Hinata were in place. Sasuke and Hoshi grinned.

Hoshi jumped towards the one on the left, Sasuke the one on the right. The bandits had underestimated them and their speed.

Hoshi sent a flying sidekick to the face, which landed full on. However, he recovered quickly and sent his own kick towards Hoshi's gut. Avoiding it, she did a spinning ground kick, which he jumped over. He used that jump to crash a punch into Hoshi's head, almost knocking her out.

Sasuke was faring better. He had also started with a kick, but his was aiming at the guy's gut. It landed, and he didn't recover fast enough. Sasuke sent a well-aimed punch to the head, knocking him out. He looked towards Hoshi just in time to see the punch land on Hoshi's face. He felt angry with himself for leaving her to deal with the stronger bandit alone and for the bandit for hurting her and leaped towards her.

The bandit, however, had leaped towards Tazuna. Hinata and Naruto immediately went into action, ignoring how their strongest teammate had gone down and the next strongest was nursing her. Hinata went right in, her hand aiming and connecting to the point in his chest, which would knock his right arm out of action before being backhanded away. She crashed into a tree.

Naruto, who had already surrounded him, attacked him full on in a fit of rage. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough even though his right arm was out of whack. Luckily, Hoshi and Sasuke came to the rescue.

Hoshi had been surprised, at both the punch and Sasuke coming to her rescue. He had scarcely looked at her, focusing on the wound in the side of her head. He had barely gotten a glimpse of it when they heard Hinata crashing into the tree. Hoshi had gotten up and they had both nodded at each other before charging.

Both her and Sasuke hit the bandit in the head with twin sidekicks. He went down like a sack of bricks.

With grins of satisfaction, they all turned towards Hinata. That wiped their grins off.

Naruto immediately ran to the heiress. Hoshi looked at Sasuke, conflicted. Sasuke nodded, saying without words that he would tie up the bandits and take care of Tazuna while she looked after Hinata. With a grateful smile, Hoshi ran off as well.

Tazuna was looking at the genin in shock. They had fought beyond what he had thought them capable of, and none of them seemed to bat an eyelash at the fact that their sensei were dead. He voiced this concern. "Hello, what about your sensei?"

Sasuke smirked before dragging one of the bandits towards a large tree. Said sensei stepped out from the forest. "What about them?" Kakashi asked, amused and impressed. Tazuna jumped a bit in shock.

Kurenai immediately ran over to Hinata while Kakashi helped Sasuke tie the bandits to the tree. Both he and Kurenai had been impressed and yet disappointed.

It was amazing at how fast the four had reacted, Hoshi especially. He had thought that all of them would be caught off guard but instead; they had reacted as though they were expecting it. Hoshi had shouted out orders as though they were planned and with the authority in her tone which must be obeyed. Even Sasuke had listened to her.

He had liked how the entire team had worked, but he was disappointed in Hoshi. He knew that she could fight better than she had. Before every move, there was a hesitation. She was practically asking the enemy to hit her.

Actually, that reminded him of Sasuke's behavior. He had reacted almost instantly, going towards his teammate instead of his foe. Kakashi was conflicted about his feelings towards that action. On one hand, Sasuke had never showed that he cared for another human being other than Itachi and he had shown teamwork he had not thought the Uchiha was capable of with that action and the simultaneous kick. On the other, he had left himself wide open and had worried more about his teammate than the others.

But back to Hoshi. He had to ask her what was causing her sluggish movements. Speaking of whom…

"Sasuke, I can handle this. Why don't you go and see if Hoshi is okay?" In the bustle over the Hyuuga, everyone had forgotten about the blow to Hoshi's head, including Hoshi. He was sure Sasuke, however, had not forgotten.

Sasuke nodded. He had been worried over her head, seeing as it had almost knocked her out. Come to think of it, her movements were slow. He wondered why that was.

"Hoshi, I think Kurenai-sensei can handle Hinata. Will you let me look at your head?" Hoshi looked up, startled. She had completely forgotten about her head since she started worrying about Hinata. She knew Hinata would be fine now, though. But now that she was thinking about it, her head was really beginning to hurt. She got up and felt immediate dizziness.

Sasuke noticed this, of course. Seeing what was going to happen before it did, he rushed over to her. She fell into his arms with a soft gasp.

Sasuke sat down, feeling almost overwhelmed by anger and worry. He examined her head and saw, to his horror, that her scalp was open and bleeding. Because she had red hair, no one had noticed how much she had bled out. It also seemed as though her skull was cracked ever so slightly.

That did nothing for his nerves. "Kurenai-sensei! Come look at Hoshi." Kurenai hurried over, having deemed Hinata safe.

She almost gasped. How had she not noticed this? And how had Hoshi not collapsed until now? She immediately set to work, her hands glowing green.

Sasuke watched, tense and also curious. Healing jutsu? He made a mental note to learn some, so that he would be able to take care of her next time.

Wait, what? No, it was so that he would be able to heal himself in a fight against Itachi. Yeah, that was it.

His attention snapped back to Hoshi's head because, before his eyes, he saw scar tissue forming over Hoshi's wound. That was where Kurenai stopped. "The rest will heal up in due time. For now, she needs to rest. She'll be back up and running within the hour, I'm sure."

Kurenai was comforting Sasuke, although the latter was unaware of this. Relaxing ever so slightly, he looked over to Hinata. It seemed she was all right; enough so that she was staring at Hoshi with worry evident in her normally stoic eyes. Sasuke smiled slightly, trying his best to ease her worry.

He then looked over to the bandits, in particular the one who had hurt Hoshi. Now that Hoshi was out of the immediate danger zone, he was able to focus on controlling his feelings. He was surprised at the intensity of the anger that he felt towards the one who had hurt Hoshi and Hinata. He quickly squashed it. Now that he thought about it, he had an undue amount of worry towards his female teammates as well.

He cursed silently. So much for his focus on Itachi. He was, despite his best efforts, starting to care for his teammates. He looked down, his eyes softening. Oh yes, he had to kill these feelings he was having. Feelings he wasn't supposed to have.

Somehow, despite his best efforts, Team 8 had gotten through his wall.

Somehow, he had grown to care for them.

And somehow, he had to crush any and all feelings he had, including the ones towards a certain red-haired ninja lying in his lap.

XXXXX

"_**Friendship sneaks up on you when you are in need of one, whether you want it or not. It's like love, only sneakier."**_

Sorry if I'm going too fast, I just feel like the plot needs to move along a bit.

Thanks for you patience and reading!

-gimmecookiesorDIE


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